Tumgik
#one last post before shit hits the fan (maybe)
nem0-nee · 1 year
Text
Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media
doodle dump from ?!?!!?!!?
[Saga in the 3rd pic belongs to rev; inspired from this post]
Spring break is about to end, so I'm distracting myself with the silly :^))
172 notes · View notes
chaoticbardlady99 · 3 months
Text
I Wondered If I Could Come Home? (Astarion x F! Reader)
Synopsis- It’s been 4 months since you last saw Astarion and 3 months since you killed the Netherbrain with your other companions. Shortly after, you settled down in Silverymoon to begin a life out there and try to push Astarion out of your mind- except it can never be that easy. You shortly discover you are pregnant with his child- a child that could kill you during childbirth. Scared and alone- Shadowheart stays with you to help you deliver the baby and keep you alive.
While out at the local market, Shadowheart runs into Gale and invites him over for dinner. Gale has unexpected company.
CW: Pregnancy, mentions of potential death during birth, mentions of nudity, mentions of NSFW smut
To my fellow DND fans- no this is probably not canon compliant, yes I’m upset about that, but look I really needed to write this so sue me I guess
Author note- Self indulgent, I have baby fever, but don’t want a baby fic. I’m unsure of how long this will be or if it will have more parts-it depends on how angsty I feel, but I need to have like six different ideas to think about at a time soooo 😂
*This hasn’t been edited ✨well✨so please forgive me
Tumblr media
*again, no fucking clue who’s picture it is, but it sure as shit isn’t mine so if it’s yours- reach out so I can give credit!
You keep yourself propped up against the sink in the kitchen as Shadowheart holds your hair out of your face and dabbing away the cold sweat that drips down your neck.
You are really sick of being morning sick. It’s absolutely the worst thing in the world- well besides your potential death from carrying your little girl inside of you. You sometimes think Astarion may get his wish- you may just die screaming.
You dry heave one last time- not a single thing comes up because you haven’t kept a single thing down since two mornings ago. Your morning sickness is inconsistent and comes on with little to no warning.
It’s been five months since you conceived this fricken kid, but it was like all the symptoms hit after you killed the Netherbrain.
A part of you really wishes you had somehow known before then- maybe it would have changed the cruel fate that ended your relationship with Astarion. You were literally pregnant in the middle of fighting Cazador. You think about what he last said to you all the time and just sob hysterically- like it happened yesterday.
A deeper part of you feels abandoned, but you blame yourself for him leaving. You should have been more convincing or maybe you shouldn’t have flat out told him no and explained why in the hells you didn’t want him to ascend.
For example- you didn’t want to lose him to some evil version of himself.
Ironically, you lost him anyway and are pregnant with his fucking child who insists on occasionally making you miserable.
Despite your inherent sadness, anger, and sickness, you find you are actually quite excited to meet her. You haven’t settled on a name yet and Shadowheart has been very helpful in regards to making sure you are healthy and strong for delivery. She’s your best friend and you could not be more grateful for her.
“I’ll go back to the market today and get you more of those herbs,” Shadowheart says quietly when she talks to you, “they seemed to help last time?”
You nod- exhausted and your head is pounding. You and this kid are going to need to have a serious conversation. You will not be letting a second Acunin make you miserable before she is ever born.
Shadowheart guides you to your bed upstairs, standing behind you in case you get hit with a wave of vertigo- which usually happens post vomit episode.
You pull your curtains closed- thankful that the desperate hope in your heart led you to buying black out curtains. You close your door and lay down on your bed- tears spilling down your cheeks freely.
You miss him terribly. You shouldn’t. You should positively hate him, but everyday of this pregnancy makes you ache for him. You should be doing this together.
You know it’s hormones- the weepiness, the intense longing, and the Gods awful horniness. Dreams are the worst. You wake up a squirming disaster at least three times a week with your skin burning hot with memories of Astarion touching you.
You are happy that isn’t the case currently, but the weepiness sucks too. Remembering how he used to curl around you, the way it felt to have him kiss you on the forehead, and all those late night conversations with (now empty) promises. You curl yourself around your pillows, willing your imagination to pretend it’s him, and you sob until you fall asleep.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Astarion tries to contain his excitement and fear as he follows Gale and Shadowheart to your home. Finally, after searching for literal months, he was going to see you again.
Astarion has been haunted by the last words he had said to you for what feels like eons now. He hadn’t meant it at the time and he certainly doesn’t mean it now.
He had been too afraid to come back to you after everything he had said. Astarion decided you probably hate him anyway so he tried to move on.
He tried being with other people (it always failed miserably because they weren’t you), he drank until he couldn’t remember a damn thing, and when all else failed, he began his search for the Ring of the Sunwalker.
After the nightlife of Baldur’s Gate lost it’s appeal and he finally found a ring location, Astarion found himself in front of Gale’s door in Waterdeep- begging him of all people to help him.
The wizard had been puzzled and melancholy when he realized Astarion was at his door. Astarion told him every little piece of how he feels about you, how much he misses you, and how he wants to be able to give you the life that you deserve. Astarion was practically on the verge of hysteria while trying to make his case.
Thus began the search for the Ring of the Sunwalker.
They were able to locate and obtain one after a grueling three month long journey and some help from one of Gale’s old friends. Then, they headed straight to Silverymoon- your last known whereabouts.
Running into Shadowheart had felt like a miracle, but to also have her living with you had made the trip even easier. Except Shadowheart was being really really weird towards him.
When Gale first asked if Astarion could come along too, Shadowheart had asked Astarion why he wanted to come and see the person he “hoped died screaming?”
Astarion had flinched at the anger and venom in Shadowheart’s voice. He figured the others would be mad, but he was hoping maybe Shadowheart would give him a little easier time like Gale had. Astarion was genuinely surprised by how quick she was to be defensive of you and your whereabouts. When Gale confirmed that Astarion was telling the truth, Shadowheart reluctantly said he could come.
The three arrive at the front of your shared townhome- it faces the beach and has the perfect amount of windows for the sun to light up the house, but one of the rooms is hidden from sight with heavy, black out curtains.
Shadowheart turns to both of them, “Tav might not be able to join us… she’s been sick for a bit now and is… recuperating.”
Astarion feels his heart drop to his stomach.
“Sick? For how long?”
Shadowheart shifts on her feet uncomfortably, “5 months, but it got worse around 3 months.”
“Tav has been sick for that long?” Gale exclaims, “why didn’t you write!? I could have helped.”
“This particular affliction is one you wouldn’t understand,” Shadowheart says with a finality that suggests the conversation is done as she leads them into the kitchen.
Shadowheart immediately gets fussing with the herbs while Gale looks around the house. Astarion is still unsure of what he should be doing. The house engulfs him in your scent and he feels positively intoxicated. You must be really sick though because your scent smells different- not bad at all, just different.
Does he talk to Shadowheart? Does he look around with Gale?
Or does he sneak off and find you? Astarion doesn’t want to waste anymore time than he already has. Slowly, he creeps towards the stairs.
“Don’t even think about it, Astarion,” Shadowheart warns.
Astarion looks at her and then back at the stairs. He does this a couple times until Shadowheart appears to be annoyed enough that she’s let her guard down a bit.
Astarion takes off up the steps and he hears Shadowheart and Gale coming up right behind him.
Astarion hears a dry heave from down the hallway and he goes racing for the door.
If you are as sick as Shadowheart has suggested (5 months is crazy long), Astarion may not have much time with you and Gods he needs to take advantage of the time he does have.
Shadowheart be damned.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
You wake up feeling even worse than you did when you fell asleep. Your headache feels like it’s taken on a life on it’s own and Gods you are going to vomit all over the floor if you don’t move NOW!
You get up with an impossible amount of speed for how dizzy you are and you grab the pail on your nightstand and heave painfully.
You are rocking back and forth, groaning as more stomach acid comes up because again, not able to even keep anything down.
You hear a pair of footsteps and then Shadowheart screaming after-
“ASTARION! THEY ARE SICK! YOU NEED TO WAIT!”
“I have been looking for them for months now,” you hear him hiss, “if they are sick, I need to see them. If this has lasted five months- then who knows how much time I’ve wasted!”
“Will you stop being selfish for five minutes!? It’s not about you and who even says she wants to see you!?”
Shadowheart and Astarion are yelling in front of your door now. You feel tears prick your eyes- Astarion is here. Here here. A flurry of excited kicks from inside you catches your attention and a feeling of blissful happiness comes over you. Oh look, the nausea is gone. Of course it is.
“Traitor,” you whisper before laying down on your bed for a moment.
You are very happy that your unborn daughter appears to be pleased and feels good about her dad being on the other side of the door. You, on the other hand, are less than optimistic.
Wasted time doing what? And why did Shadowheart say I was sick!? In what world was that going to keep him from going upstairs!? Especially if he, your mind pauses, cares about me? Again?
Which you hope he does- you would hope Shadowheart wasn’t so sick of taking care of you that she brought him here to finish the job. Maybe this is all one big show.
Another, “I WILL DO WHAT I PLEASE” from Astarion, a “YOU SELFISH BASTARD” from Shadowheart, and a “Please can’t we all just be nice, catch up, and get along?” from Gale finally gives you the motivation to get up. The arguing feels far too much like being in camp again. You pinch the bridge of your nose, willing the growing headache to go away.
It doesn’t so you change into a pair of longer cotton pajama pants, a t-shirt that is unfortunately showing off your bump more than you’d like, and then you swing open the door in tired annoyance.
You are met with Astarion looking at you- his eyes scanning up and down your body- settling on your stomach. His expression is unreadable- it’s somewhere between lust, love, grief, and heartbreak. Embarrassed by Astarion’s intense gaze, you look over at Gale who is all smiles for you.
“Congratulations Tav!!!” Gale practically yells, making you wince, “the father is a lucky man.”
“I don’t think he considers himself a lucky man,” you say pointedly before turning to Astarion, “or do you?”
Astarion’s face changes entirely with your words. His eyes look at you, round and soft. His eyes are full of adoration and need- a look you never thought he would give you again. You have to fight the urge to grab him and drag him into your bedroom. You will not let the hormones win- you will be strong.
“I- it’s- I mean,” Astarion is fumbling over his words, “you are carrying my child?”
“Yes,” you say grumpily, crossing your arms,” and she’s been giving me nothing but trouble. Thanks to your genetics, I’m sure. This is day two of not being able to keep a damn thing down and this fucking headache is UNBEARABLE so please for the love of every God keep the arguing down.”
Astarion is still looking at you with a mystified expression- taking you in as if for the first time in his entire life. You look back towards Gale and Shadowheart- you are entirely too self-conscious and way too excited to see him for him to be looking at you like that. You are trying to be mad dammit!
Shadowheart gazes at you and your surely red tipped ears with amusement before she says, “I’ll go and get the potion ready for you- that should hopefully help.”
“I will- uh,” Gale says awkwardly, looking between you and Astarion, “join you! I might need to know which herbs to use… in the future?”
“Planning on getting pregnant Gale?” You say with a smirk.
Gale snorts at you, “Dear friend, as wonderful as you look right now- none of the side effects sound appealing.”
“Oh they most certainly aren’t,” you say,” but thanks for thinking I look ‘wonderful’. I feel, well, disgusting.”
“Gods, how could you even think that?” Astarion blurts out, appearing shocked that he even said it, “you look like…. A vision. A wonderful, stunning vision, Darling.”
Shadowheart and Gale excuse themselves as you struggle to find the words for Astarion’s comment. Your entire body feels like it’s on fire and you feel yourself begin to melt a little bit. You feel your emotions bloom into something resembling spring as he steps closer to you- looking at you with pleading eyes.
You clear your throat, “would you like to come into my room and talk?”
Astarion nods eagerly, following behind you so close that you once again have to remind yourself that ripping off the clothes of someone who literally told you they wanted you to die screaming was not healthy- at least not until you get a proper apology.
You sit against your headboard as Astarion walks around your room- running his fingers along the bassinet and rocking chair in the corner. You still can’t get a read on him.
“A girl?”
His question breaks the air.
“Yes,” you smile at him, “no name yet though.”
“I’m sure you’ll pick a nice one,” he says with a smile, but his tone is entirely too melancholic.
A painful thump in your heart fills your body with sadness. He doesn’t want to be involved. Of course he doesn’t want to be involved. You are his knocked up ex-girlfriend. What were you expecting? The lump forming in your throat is unbearable.
“You don’t want to be involved?”
Oh good Gods you are crying. Astarion rushes over to you the minute your tears begin to fall- sitting in front of you on the bed. He reaches out and gently wipes your tears away as he speaks.
“I want to be involved so badly it hurts,” his voice comes out scratchy and emotional, “but that is your decision, not mine. You have been on your own for months, my Love. Instead of trying to come back and make it better- I pushed it off until I thought I could give you what you deserved- a life in the sun.”
You almost whine in protest when his hands leave your face. He twists the ring around his index finger before continuing, avoiding your gaze, “But maybe I was wrong. Maybe what you deserve is a person that isn’t so damaged. Someone who can give you what you actually deserve which is a loving partner who hasn’t hurt you over and over again- a man worthy of being a father to ou- I mean your child.”
His confession and the tears that are streaming down his face are enough for you. Yes, you absolutely want to scream and yell at him, but you also ache for him. You can’t fault the man for being a slave for 200 years and then not taking it very well when you told him what to do. You always knew you would forgive him if he came back- you never thought he would, but here he is and like he said- there is no reason to keep wasting time.
“She is our child, Star,” you whisper and guide his eyes to look at you, “I want you to be involved. I don’t care what you think I deserve either. I have missed you so horribly since you left. It’s almost pathetic really. I’ve tried to blame it on the hormones, but… I don’t know. The picture has felt incomplete up until now.”
You absentmindedly put your hand on your stomach- receiving a kick. You glare at the place where your hand is resting.
“Will you stop kicking me for five minutes!?” You scream, “I WAS IN THIS BODY FIRST!”
Astarion looks at you bewildered and confused, but quickly realizes you aren’t talking about him. The smile that spreads across his face is wide and Astarion gingerly moves closer. You are still a little cautious- needing to protect not only yourself, but also your unborn child. He moves to the right of you and goes to move you just slightly so he can slip in behind you.
“Could I? I mean if it’s not crossing any boundaries!”
Astarion is on edge- you can tell that much, but he doesn’t look at you like he did that last time you saw him- Astarion is looking at you like you are the most precious individual who has ever walked this earth.
You nod shyly, and then Astarion slots himself behind you, your back against his chest, his face in the crook of your neck, and his legs on either side of yours. He cautiously puts his hands on your stomach and is immediately kicked.
Astarion laughs with joy, “she’s strong!”
“Strong willed and strong physically,” you shake your head and you are laughing a bit now too, “you may just get your wish yet.”
“What wish?”
It had slipped. You hadn’t meant to bring it up again- or maybe you did. You want to know for sure if he still feels that way, but the confusion in his voice says he doesn’t. You go rigid and go to dismiss it when you feel his posture change behind you, his grip loosening ever so slightly.
“Right… that.”
The silence is nerve-wracking. You’ve lost him again, you are sure of it. A stray tear begins to roll down your cheek.
“Astarion-“
“No, let me think, Darling. I want to make sure I say everything I want to say correctly.”
You continue to sit there in silence, he places soft kisses on your neck. You feel him smile against your skin at the needy moan that escapes your lips. You absentmindedly reach out for one of his hands and begin to play with his fingers while he thinks. Astarion used to let you do this all the time while you were traveling- it helps you feel grounded.
“I was so consumed by all that power in the moment,” he says slowly, “I wasn’t thinking. By the time I had realized what I had done, I felt like it was already too late- you most likely hated me and moved on.”
You have to bite your tongue- you want to scream. Hate him? Never. You had been miserable without him around for that last month of traveling. Your heart had felt like a dead weight in your chest and you had been moving around like a zombie.
“So I tried to move on… I even tried to be with others, but I just couldn’t do it. It’s selfish, but I want you. I never want anything bad to happen to you- I certainly don’t ever want you to die screaming. I don’t want you to ever carry a child that is not mine.”
You are surprised by the warmth in your core when he says his last sentence. There is something so primal there that you have to really focus on what he is saying next.
Astarion clears his throat before finishing speaking, “I don’t want to be without you anymore- four months is too long. I don’t want to miss out on anymore of your pregnancy and I want to be here for you- with you- doing this together like we should have been doing this whole time. I was a horrible fool- please give me another chance. Please, Darling. I love you- so so much more than I ever thought anyone could ever love someone.”
Astarion’s words hang in the air and you are trying not to begin crying for the 15th billion time. This is what you had wanted to hear all along. You can feel his tears on the collar of your shirt- the way he inhales as if to memorize your scent like this is the last time. Astarion is not expecting you to say yes- you know that because he’s starting to loosen up, pulling away from you so that he can respect your decision.
“I love you too,” you whisper, “I don’t want to be without you anymore either. I forgive you- please stay.”
“I won’t be going anywhere unless you want me too, my Love.”
722 notes · View notes
xoxoladyaz · 10 months
Text
It Hits Different This Time, Part 2
Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Rock Star Eddie x Steve Harrington
TW: Mentions of alcohol, drug abuse
QUICK AUTHOR'S NOTE: I'm so sorry that the last entry was so angst heavy, I promise this one provides some comfort! Eddie needed to take a big step here and he really, really does. Also, much love to everyone who commented, I've tagged you at the bottom of the post - let me know if anyone else would like to be notified of the next entry!
Part One / Part Two / Part Three / Part Four / Part Five
It was another five days before Steve heard from Eddie. Another five torturous days of radio silence, only this time, there wasn’t anything online. No new articles were popping up saying he’d been spotted somewhere, no new TikToks of him meeting fans on the street. The rest of the band was MIA too; Steve had thought about sending Jeff a text to check-in but ultimately decided to wait another couple days. Robin had been texting with Chrissy, after all, and if something bad had gone down, she would know.
When Eddie did finally call, it wasn’t from a number that Steve recognized.
“I’m getting a call from Malibu.”
“Holy shit!” Robin sat up on the other end of the couch and shot him a look. “Okay, just breathe dingus, okay? It’s going to be okay, I’ll be here the whole time.” She squeezed his ankle comfortingly. “You can do this.”
Steve accepted the call with shaky hands and brought his phone to his ear. “Hello?”
“Hey Steve.”
He shut his eyes and swallowed, trying to stop his voice from cracking. “Eddie.”
He heard Eddie let out a watery laugh across the line. “Do you, uh, have a minute?”
“Mmmm hmmm,” Steve hummed. He physically couldn’t get an actual word out. 
This was it. Eddie was leaving, he’d cheated, it was over – 
“I’m in rehab.”
Steve’s eyes shot open. “You’re what?”
Robin started rocking back and forth. “Turn it up!” She hissed, and Steve obliged, turning up his volume so she could just barely hear what was being said. (Was this a private conversation? Yes. Did Eddie know he’d probably immediately tell Robin everything? Also yes. 
Was this news big enough to warrant having Robin eavesdrop?
Absolutely yes.)
“Yeah, I’m, uh, at the Promises Treatment Center in Malibu,” Eddie continued. “We got back about five days ago and when I saw your note, I – 
“Look, Steve,” Eddie continued, and his voice was choked up, like he himself couldn’t speak, “I fucked up. I’ve fucked everything up. You are – you said in that note that you didn’t want me to give up on my dreams, and you’re right, making it big and getting famous for my music was my dream for literal years. Because I kept thinking “once I get a record out there,” “once I go on tour,” “once I win a Grammy,” “once I get a million dollars,” then I’d finally be happy. 
“But it turns out the only thing being famous has done is make me pretty fucking miserable,” Eddie let out a harsh laugh. “But I was so goddamn convinced that this was it, you know, that I’d accomplished my dreams so I must be happy that I started taking whatever I could get my fucking hands on to make me feel that way. The thing is drugs and the alcohol and the parties never made it fucking last. It just made every other second that I was in the public eye that much worse.
“But I’d still made it, you know? I felt like I didn’t deserve to feel this fucking miserable. And everyone back home was so fucking proud and I didn’t want to let them down - ” Eddie paused for a few moments to clear his throat before continuing. “I didn’t want to let you down. Because Eddie “The Freak” Munson didn’t deserve you, but maybe Eddie “The Rock Star” could.”
Steve can feel his own throat closing up and he can barely see Robin’s face, his eyes are watering that bad. “Baby,” he sobbed. “I wish you’d told me.”
“Me too,” Eddie sniffled across the line. “I didn’t though, I just kept self-medicating and ignoring it, because that’s always worked,” he huffed sarcastically. “But then - ” Eddie cut off again, and Steve can hear that he’s trying so hard to hold back his own sobs, “then I came home last week and realized that I’d missed our goddamn anniversary because I was too fucking high and that you were gone and I just – I called Jeff and I told him to get me on a plane out here because you – you, Steve Harrington, you are the best thing in my goddamn life. And the only dream I want to chase now is the one where we get married and adopt some kids and grow old together.”
“Eddie,” Steve sobbed out again, and he heard Eddie start to cry too, and then suddenly they were crying together, even from hundreds of miles away.
“So I’m gonna be here for the next six weeks,” Eddie finally continued, his voice still full of tears. “I’m, uh, meeting with a therapist for a few hours every day and working through my shit. I wanna be a guy who deserves good things, baby. I wanna be a guy who deserves you.”
“What – what about the band?” Steve sniffled, rubbing at his eyes. A handful of Kleenex appeared in front of him. Robin must have gotten up to grab them at some point. He shot her a thankful nod and patted at his eyes; Robin nodded back and did the same, her face flushed that bright shade of red that accompanied her own tears.
“Murray wrote a provision into our contract where if one of us checks into rehab, then the band is instantly put on a two-year, non-negotiable hiatus.”
“But – what about your momentum, the label kept talking about it?”
“The label can go fuck themselves” Eddie practically growled over the phone. “Who do you think hosted the party where I first got my hands on the hardcore stuff anyways?”
“Babe - ”
“Murray said he was going to look into some sort of contract termination so we can sign somewhere else. And even if we didn’t have that thing written into our contract, we probably would have gone on hiatus anyways, or worse. That – the last leg was rough. Gareth was just as fucked up as I was and Jeff was fucking pissed. He kept having to pull Gareth out of orgies and shit while babysitting Phil and I too.”
“Did,” Steve swallowed harshly, “did - ”
“No, baby, never,” Eddie declared quickly. “Even when I couldn’t fucking see straight, you were the only one I wanted to be with. I honestly don’t even know who we were partying with at the end there, the label sent them for some PR shit, I don’t know. It’s just another reason why we want out.”
“Oh,” Steve murmured, “okay. Good. Or, well, not good. You know.”
“Yeah, baby, I do,” Eddie replied softly. 
They sat in silence for a few moments, just listening to each other breathe. “I, uh,” Eddie started up again quietly, “I’m wearing the ring.”
“Yeah?” Steve found himself smiling despite the fresh tears welling up in his eyes.
“Yeah,” Eddie’s voice was just as choked up as before. “It’s perfect. You’re perfect.”
“Eddie - ”
“Look, I know, I know I hurt you so, so badly and I’m never going to fucking forgive myself for what I did, but I – you’re everything I want, baby. If I had to give up Corroded Coffin tomorrow for you, I would do it in a heartbeat. And I – I know I can’t expect for you to just, like, forgive me after the shit I pulled, but – will you be there, when I get out? Can I – I want to come home to you,” Eddie finished, and Steve could hear that he was crying again.
Steve looked over at Robin, who was wiping more tears out of her own eyes. They looked at each other for a few moments.
It might be crazy, but I think I want to say yes.
I don't blame you. I mean, this is one hell of an apology, especially from Mr. “I’ll Never Need to Go to Rehab Ever.”
Yeah. And I love him.
And you love him.
“I’ll be there,” Steve murmured reassuringly, and Eddie burst into a new wave of muffled sobs on the other end of the phone. “Just do what you need to do and come home when you’re ready, okay? I’ll be waiting for home.”
“At home?” Eddie’s voice broke on a whimper.
“At home. I’ll even clean the bathrooms and everything,” Steve joked, and Eddie let out a loud laugh despite the quiet sobs Steve could still hear. 
“Really? You’ll be there?”
“Yeah, Eddie. I’ll be there. We can get through this.”
“Together.”
“Together. Because I would rather share one lifetime with you than face all the ages of this world alone.”
“Fuck, Stevie,” Eddie let out an incredulous laugh again, “I love you so fucking much, baby. I’m going to marry the fuck out of you someday.”
“Save the sweet talk for when you get home, okay?” Steve could feel his heart settling in his chest, and whatever tears he’d had left to cry were all gone now. There was just the twinge of missing Eddie, but that would go away soon enough. “I’m so fucking proud of you, Eds.”
“Thanks, baby.” Eddie’s answer was soft now. “So I, uh, get a couple hours to call people every day from one of the site’s phones. Can I keep calling you?”
“Please,” Steve heard Eddie exhale in relief. “Every day sounds perfect.”
“Good, good. I’ll have to, uh, use some of my time to talk to Wayne, but the rest of it is yours, baby. And Gareth, Jeff threw him into a different center too. His check-in was much less voluntary though.”
“Shit,” Steve winced. “Is there anything Robin or I can do to help?”
“Take Jeff and Chrissy out to a nice dinner and use the Amex,” Eddie snorted, causing Steve to laugh.
“Consider it done.”
“Good." Steve heard the sound of another voice behind Eddie. Eddie replied something Steve couldn't understand, but it was in the affirmative. "Doc says my time is up for today. My, uh, talk with Wayne took up a lot of time,” Eddie returned, and his voice trembled as he spoke. “But I’ll call you tomorrow and I’ll see you in six weeks.”
“Yes you will.” Steve shut his eyes and imagined Eddie was standing right in front of him. Eddie with his riotous curls and holey graphic tees and tight jeans. Eddie with his rings on his fingers, with Steve’s ring on his finger. Eddie, standing across from him and smiling at him with that twinkle in his eye that had first caught Steve’s attention all those years ago. 
“I love you, Eds.”
“I love you too, sweetheart. I’ll see you on the other side.”
Tags List: @gregre369 @starman-jpg @skoomy-doompy @thequeenrainacorn @sleepyboosstuff @strawberrykore @paintsplatteredandimperfect @amoris-no-smut-allowed @steve-the-hairrington @iknewyouweremuggle @swimmingbirdrunningrock @sunfloweringstories @loverkasp @hyperfixationgoddess @steddie-as-they-go @zerokrox-blog @messrs-weasley @thelittleclare @lovelyscot
1K notes · View notes
thisapplepielife · 9 days
Text
Tumblr media
Written for the @steddieholidaydrabbles pop-up Spring challenge.
Holding Out For Spring
Prompt: Spring | Word Count: 1000 | Rating: M | CW: Alcohol Abuse | Tags: Eddie POV, Corroded Coffin, Future Fic, Struggling, Chronic Pain, Post Break-Up, Hurt/Comfort, Angst with a Hopeful Ending, Gatorade: Not a Sponsor
Tumblr media
Eddie scratches his pen against the page, scribbling forth and scratching away the words that are spilling out onto the loose papers shuffled all around the desk. He reaches for the bottle sitting on the edge of the desk, and takes another long pull.
It was supposed to be a sober month, and he only made it eight days. That's two more than last month, he supposes. 
Writing drunk never gets him anywhere, not really, but he's doing it anyway. Because he feels too much right now. 
The door to the hotel room opens and closes, and Eddie ignores it. He doesn't want the lecture, not from any of them. He's heard it all before, and it doesn't bear repeating.
It's Gareth, and he's quiet as he gathers up the discarded empties, dropping them into the small trash can across the hotel room. Then, he's putting his hand on Eddie's, covering his fingers as they grip the pen, stilling his wrist. Stopping the flow of words.
"Let's get you cleaned up," Gareth tells him, and it's too soft. Too gentle, and Eddie fucking hates it. Hates him. Hates this godforsaken band. 
Hates the never-ending winter he's suffering through. Freezing him to the bone while he moves through the world.
Gareth can't fix that, nobody can, and there's nothing the three of them can scheme up to change this. No amount of babysitting, no amount of coddling, and no amount of treating him like he's fragile. 
He's not fragile. He's broken. There's a difference.
And Eddie wants to fight back, wants to snarl and bite, but he doesn't. He lets go of the pen, and watches as it rolls off the desk and onto the carpet. 
Gareth pulls him up off the chair, and leads him towards the bathroom, getting the water turned on and to the right temperature. Eddie just leans there watching it all happen, numb. 
"Can you stand?" Gareth asks, and Eddie nods.
It's too cold, this winter that's lingering. Steve left, and that saddled him with six more weeks of winter. Only, it's been six months now.
And he's still holding out for spring.
If spring would just come, then maybe he'd be able to breathe again, even if that feels impossible these days, without Steve. 
He gets in the shower, and sticks his head under the spray, trying to sober up. Scrubs at his sides, fingers digging into the scars there. The ones that have faded, but will never disappear. He's in constant pain. The nerve damage, the muscle loss. You can't get gnawed on by bats and just bounce back, at least Eddie couldn't.
Steve did.
But Steve's always been stronger than him.
He's not gonna be fixed, not ever, but they have a show tonight, and if they cancel any more gigs, shit's really gonna hit the fan. He's a goddamn mess, has been since Steve…took a break. 
It's just a break, not a break-up, Eddie tells himself. Over and over, because he won't survive, if this is permanent. Even as the days have turned into weeks, into months.  
He can hear the rest of the band arguing outside the door, Jeff and Goodie now involved. Throwing ideas around. The same old, same old. 
Rehab, again. Canceling the tour, again. Calling Wayne, again.
The last resort, calling Steve.
They can't do any of those things. Won't. None of them will help, will fix him. This is just the way he is, and they have to work around it.  
So, they'll get him sobered up for the night, for the week, and pretend he'll be better this time. He won't be. He never is. The pain will come back, and he'll turn back to the bottle. 
It's genetic. The Munson way. He's cursed, and there's no point in fighting it. 
When Eddie gets out of the shower, Gareth has his scribbled lyrics in hand, waving them around as he talks. Like Eddie isn't even here, listening. Eddie sees the bottle of yellow Gatorade on the desk, that one of them must have gotten from the vending machine, like it'd be enough to sober him up, and Eddie bats it away, sending it skittering across the carpet and into the wall, leaving a dent near the baseboard that they'll have to pay for. That's nothing new. But it shuts them up, just for a second, before Goodie picks the bottle up off the ground and hurls it back at Eddie. Eddie ducks instead of catching it, and it slams against the mirror, glass against glass, all of it shattering to the carpet below.
Eddie lunges towards Goodie, while Gareth and Jeff struggle to hold them both back, and the shouting starts, all over again.
Eddie comes off the stage, and a bottle of Gatorade is pressed into his fist, and he downs it. Ignoring that it's the wrong color. He prefers yellow, and Steve knows that. So does the band. But this stranger, this roadie, doesn't. So, it's red. 
It's fine, but it isn't right. 
Eddie still claps the kid on the shoulder in thanks, and walks away. 
Opening the door to his dressing room, there's a bottle of yellow Gatorade waiting on the coffee table, and Steve waiting on the couch. 
Eddie can't be mad they called him, can't do anything other than crumple in on himself at the sight of him. Steve shouldn't be here, shouldn't be trying to save Eddie from himself, yet again. It hasn't worked before, and it probably won't work now, either.
But Eddie wants it to work. Wants to be good enough for Steve.
"Why?" Eddie asks, and Steve stands. Crosses the room, takes Sweetheart off of Eddie's back, sitting her down gently. Then he pulls Eddie to his chest, those large, warm hands sliding up and down Eddie's back. Soothing him, warming him. 
"You know why," Steve says.
Eddie held out for spring, and he's here now. 
His sunshine, in a yellow sweater.
The start of the thaw.
Tumblr media
Inspired by the song Spring by Ed Sheeran.
I said I'd do a sober month, I failed, but tried, and wrote this drunk, Oh, what a state we're in, I'll keep holdin' out for spring Spring, Ed Sheeran
If you want to write your own, or see more entries for this challenge, pop on over to @steddieholidaydrabbles and follow along with the fun!
If you want to see more of my entries into this month-long challenge, you can check them out in my Steddie Holiday Drabbles tag, right here!
72 notes · View notes
msbigredmachine · 8 months
Text
Coming In London (Jey Uso/OC)
Tumblr media
A date night for the ages across the pond. Post-Money in the Bank 2023. Jey Uso/OC one-shot.
Warnings: SMUT
Word count: 5.5k
A/N: New Edition's 'Can You Stand The Rain' was my muse for this fic. It kinda fit. I'm not weird I promise.
Enjoy!
--------------
Tumblr media Tumblr media
Money in the Bank was so much fun! 
Zainab had attended a number of WWE shows with some great audiences in the past couple of years, but there was something about the atmosphere in the O2 Arena that could not be replicated elsewhere. They were on fire all night, especially for the main event, yet another one her boyfriend and his twin brother were headlining this year. Watching him feed off the fans’ energy and tear it up with his three brothers was mesmerizing. Emotions ran high afterwards and she ended up hanging out in the hotel lounge with the Bloodline and several other Superstars till the early hours of Sunday morning. It was hard to fall asleep with how happy everyone was about the great show they’d put on.
Jey was still passed out at breakfast time, buried beneath the white sheets of the plush bed of their hotel suite. Deciding not to disturb him, Zainab went alone, and ran into Jimmy and Roman at the buffet table. They were still buzzing from last night. As she kept them company, she noticed there was something else exciting them. They kept checking their phones, smiling from ear to ear and sharing secret looks. Her curiosity was piqued, but before she could press for more info, both men finished up their breakfast and quickly kissed her goodbye before leaving for their flights back home.
When she returned to her man, he was awake but still in bed, with his phone in his hands, the sheets pooled around his waist and his hair all disheveled and sexy. Damn, he looked so good. Like, “I woke up like this” kinda good.
“Morning, sexy. Hope you didn’t miss me too much,” she greeted, giggling when he yanked her down to the bed the moment she was within reach, almost knocking off her glasses. She accepted his soft, gentle kisses as his arms wrapped around her. He tasted like mint, like he’d just brushed his teeth. “I brought you a couple of muffins, a banana and some yogurt. How ya feelin’?”
“Like I been hit by a damn truck,” he murmured, sitting up to rest his back against the headboard while keeping his hold on her waist. “How was breakfast?”
“Good. Your twin and Roman were there. They were acting real sus. Kept smilin’ all wide and shit and checking their phones like you’re doing now. Who are y’all gossiping about?”
“Haha, no one, babe. We just goofin’ around.” Clearing his throat and putting his phone away, he smoothly changed the subject. “Date night at the London Eye is a go. Tonight gon’ be lit, baybeee.”
Zainab pursed her lips and adopted her most neutral expression. “Are you sure we’ll be able to go? You still look really tired.”
Jey couldn’t hold back his laugh at her faux concern. “Z, I’m good. We goin’. Don’t know why you so scared.”
“You know I don’t like heights, Mr. Day One Ish,” she rolled her eyes.
“Last time I was in London, I went on the ride. The view was unbelievable and I told myself I’d take you there if we ever got the chance. Don’t be a scaredy cat. I’ll keep you safe, I promise.”
Whenever his mind was set on something, he went through with it no matter what. Since he only wanted to show her a good time, she decided to indulge him. “Fine. Bianca invited me for afternoon tea. Imma do a little shopping afterwards, maybe get my nails done too. I’ll be back in time for tonight.”
Jey reached for his wallet and handed her his black American Express card. “Here. Go crazy with it. Just make sure you look sexy for me tonight.”
Zainab sighed dramatically and plucked the hard plastic from between his fingers, previous back-and-forths reminding her that he would not take no for an answer. “You spoil me too much, babe.”
She tried to sound stern, but that smile he loved was bright and happy, and he couldn’t stop himself from stealing another kiss. “For you, baby, ain’t no such thing as too much.” He meant it. She had him sprung, head over heels for her. He would give her the world if she asked for it. She worked so hard on the daily and she deserved to be spoiled and pampered all the time.
Zainab’s fingers trailed over his pec tattoo as a fiendish idea came to her. “Hmm. Would you like something in return then, Daddy? It’ll be unfair for you to do all the giving.”
“Well, if you insist…” he rasped, taking her hand and putting it between his legs, making her cup him through the sheets. His other hand curled dangerously around her neck, squeezing lightly, watching the flame of desire ignite in her gorgeous eyes, “...You can gimme that throat.”
His gruff demand, topped by his darkened irises and his bottom lip tucked between his teeth, had her pussy purring. She drew the sheets off him and exposed his mouth-watering erection. Adjusting her frame on the bed, she closed her fist around his dick, leaning down to flick her tongue over the slit of his head, and her smirk widened when a sharp hiss escaped him. 
“Whatever Daddy wants, Daddy gets,” she said to him with a wink, licking him one more time. As her mouth sank lower down his shaft, Jey felt his bones melt, and he laid back with a relaxed sigh and let her work her magic on him.
Today was going to be a great day.
-----------------
The weather was nice, mostly sunny with none of the infamous London rain showers in sight, thank God. After tea at the highly esteemed Fortnum & Mason, she headed out to the High Street with Bianca Belair to find a knockout outfit for tonight. The odds were in her favor as she quickly found a pair of heels that would rock her man’s world once he saw them. That inspired her to search for an equally stunning dress, and several stores later, she came across one that made even notoriously-hard-to-impress Bianca’s jaw drop. So that was settled. Next stop was Agent Provocateur. The store was stacked with so many beautiful designs of lingerie, it was tough to choose. With Bianca’s approval, Zainab finally settled on a blood-red, backless lace push-up bra and matching thong. She was highly impressed with the amount of cleavage the bra afforded her and how the color made her skin pop. She looked forward to watching it get torn apart by her boyfriend tonight.  
Her predictions were headed in the right direction, as said boyfriend was already drooling before they left their suite for dinner. “Damn, girl. I ain't sure I wanna let you leave this room no more,” Jey drawled, resting his hands on her shapely hips. “You look good enough to eat, baby.”
Tumblr media
Laughing as he tugged her backwards right up against his crotch, Zainab didn’t take her eyes off the mirror as she bumped him away with her backside. “Down, boy, before you make me drop my contact lens. This was your idea so we’re going. But who knows?” She locked darkened eyes with him through the round shaped mirror and twerked her ass for his benefit. “If I enjoy myself, I’ll be sure to let you…eat me…later tonight.”
Damn. “We’re gonna have an awesome time tonight, later and afterwards,” he declared loudly and confidently, finishing with a suggestive wiggle of his eyebrows that made her laugh. Her boyfriend could be so goofy sometimes.
—-----------
Dinner was quiet and intimate, and Zainab couldn't help but feel loved up and romantic as her man kept sweeping her off her feet. He was super attentive and she was enjoying the attention and their playful banter. She loved that he topped up her wine glass whenever it emptied, loved that he fed her the last piece of his steak. Being together like this was really nice; thanks to their busy careers, this kind of alone time was a luxury, one neither Jey nor Zainab took for granted.
The walk from the food market to the world famous ferris wheel was thankfully a short one. Zainab beamed as she entered the structure known as Cupid’s Pod and was greeted with rows of red roses and candles decorating the enclosure.
Tumblr media
The ride came with a complimentary bottle of Rosé Champagne and a luxury box of Pink Champagne Truffles, set up on the wooden oval bench in the middle of the pod. Jey was right about the views from inside the London Eye. They were unbelievable, overlooking the boats gliding along the River Thames and several high rise buildings. The higher they went, the quieter it became, save for the personalized playlist playing softly in the background. Snuggled up with Jey on the bench, Zainab sipped some more champagne, indulged in some chocolate and basked in the ambience and the safety of her man's arms, which currently were around her waist, the heat of his body pressed against her from behind. His soft lips dispensed tender kisses along the curve of her neck, eliciting a small, welcoming moan from her at his gentle caresses. 
“You so damn fine, girl,” he complimented, pressing more kisses to her skin, absorbing her intoxicating scent. “I’m glad you’re in London with me.”
“Thank you, my love. I’m glad I’m here with you too,” she smiled up at him, lazily rubbing his thigh.
“We met on this day two years ago. Do you remember?” he asked.
Zainab sighed dreamily, her eyes closed as she nuzzled her face against his. “Like it was yesterday.”
“Mm-hmm. I also remember your stubborn ass ain’t want nothin’ to do with me.”
“I told you why. I dated a soccer player and a basketball player. They both put me through some shit. Didn’t want to deal with another athlete.”
"Naw, baby girl. None of them dudes was right for you, that's all," Jey stated matter-of-factly, his toothy smirk showing off his silver jeweled grill.
“Ha, ‘course you’d say that.” Their romance was a slow burn, as both were still struggling with recent personal heartbreak when they first met. But their deep attraction to one another was something neither could stop themselves from exploring. When he was still working in the Thunderdome, he would make the trip to Fort Lauderdale to see her after the show every Friday night so they could bond and get to know each other better. They didn't even start sleeping together right away, because they were more interested in learning about each other first. When he resumed traveling, Zainab was sure that she would never hear from him again. But nothing changed. Not a day went by when he didn’t call her; a month did not pass without them meeting up at least once. She had been afraid of falling for him, but it was impossible not to. The man was beautiful, inside and out; not without his flaws and bad habits, but who wasn’t? 
At first, she wasn’t sure how long they would last, given his crazy schedule and his history, along with her own bad breakups. But somehow she shelved all those fears and worked with him to strengthen their relationship. The fact that they were now one of the few couples in their circle still going strong to this day, meant they were doing something right. 
She studied his features as he took her hands in his. There was a nervous energy about him tonight he'd been trying to conceal, but it only felt more palpable now. “You okay, baby?” she queried. 
“Any regrets? Ya know, gettin' with me?” he asked, his voice quiet and shy.
She made a show of thinking about it. “About two or three, maybe,” she shrugged, and burst into laughter at his bombastic side-eye. “I’m just playin’,” she chortled, nudging him playfully. “We’ve had our ups and downs like any other couple, but it’s been incredible. I won't change a thing. You're an amazing boyfriend, Jey.”
“You’re amazing, Z. You’re a special person, and you been so good to me these past couple of years. I love you.” He smiled at her, and she couldn’t help but shiver at the intensity in his eyes. 
“I love you too.” The feeling was still so surreal after all this time. Every time he said those words to her, she had to catch her breath. She knew about what he had endured in his past and how long it took for him to open up again. Knowing that he felt this way about her made her heart swell. She had never felt as happy and as loved as she did with him.
The moment stretched with them gazing lovingly into each other's eyes. Zainab raised his hand to her lips and placed a soft kiss across his knuckles. With that same hand, Jey caressed her cheek, down to her jaw, cupping her chin. His thumb softly rubbed across her bottom lip. Boldly, she sucked the tip into her mouth, her heated stare locked on him, and he could not resist replacing his thumb with his lips, feeding her with warm, languid kisses that made her lady bits clench and her toes curl. 
Their little make out session was interrupted by the British A.I. woman’s voice announcing that they were at the very top of London. Jey reluctantly released Zainab and helped her to her feet. “The best of all the views is right here, babe. Take a look.” He pointed, gently rotating her and stepping back.
Summoning enough courage to go closer to the railings she’d been avoiding all evening, she cast a cautious glance out at the wondrous skyline before her. “You know what? I think I’m getting used to the height now,” she agreed, turning back around for his rebuttal.
Jey was down on one knee. A little velvet box was open in his hands with a sparkling diamond ring shining out of it.
Zainab burst out laughing and covered her face. “Oh my god you asshole! Are you fuckin’ serious?!”
Jey feigned hurt. “I know your ass ain’t cussin’ me out while I’m about to propose to you, woman,” he exclaimed, watching her walk away with her hands still on her face. He could hear her laughter gradually disintegrate, and when her shoulders began to shake with sobs, his eyes prickled. “Z…Baby, come here, I got somethin’ I wanna ask you,” he called out softly to her.
She was sure she was dreaming. It was a struggle processing this overwhelming surge of happiness, a happiness that only Jey Uso made her feel. She had to sit back down because her legs were shaking. She would definitely fall over and ruin this beautiful moment he'd clearly worked hard to set up. Luckily, Jey was kneeling before her, his hand resting on her thigh while holding up the ring to her. Her tears flowed freely, but he was there to wipe each one away, being there for her as he had been for the last two years.
“Fuck, I had a whole speech planned out and shit,” he whispered, his own voice clogged with emotion, “But now I got nothing, except that I’m so in love with you, baby. You changed my life, and I wanna be with you for the rest of it. Thank you for teaching me how to love again. Zainab Ortega, my queen, my love, will you marry me?”
Tears kept streaming down her cheeks, threatening to ruin her makeup as she stared at the man she loved more than anything in the whole world. She had only one answer. “Of course. Yes, yes I will,” she replied without hesitation, nodding enthusiastically as she watched him slide the stunning diamond ring on her finger. It fit perfectly.  
Jey’s head was spinning. He never thought he’d be in this position so soon after Nisha. He thought he would never find love again. The morning Nisha breathed her last breath, he all but lost his will to wrestle, to function, to live. Never did he imagine that just eighteen months later, at a fundraiser to combat the disease that took his wife, he would meet someone else that made his heart flutter again, that caused his skin to sprout goosebumps with just a smile. At first, he felt so guilty and so ashamed of his feelings. But before her passing, Nisha had made him promise to move on, to open his heart again if he ever found the right woman. 
So he did. Allowed himself to fall in love one more time. He couldn’t believe he’d found such a beautiful, caring, patient, sexy ass woman like Zainab. Her kind soul, her perennial optimism and her zest for life inspired him to push on with his own. Now, his career was thriving and he was in the best shape of his life. In so many ways, she saved his life. Putting a ring on her finger made all the sense in the world to him. With this, everything between them would become that much more final, much more complete. 
Zainab stared down at her finger in complete awe. “It's so pretty! I can’t believe it. This must have been such a difficult step to take, baby,” she said, looking at him.
“At first, it was,” he confessed, wiping the corners of his eyes with the pad of his thumb. “But then I quickly realized how much in love I was with you, and I couldn’t live without you. I got that ring made two months ago, ma. This weekend wasn’t gonna go by without me poppin’ the question. Nisha will always be in my heart, but it’s you and me now, Z.”
She nodded in understanding and pulled him close, pressing her lips against his. “I would be honored to be your wife. I love you so much. Thank you.” She was literally on top of the world. She would never forget this trip to London, ever.
They spent the next ten minutes calling up family and friends to tell them the good news and show off her brand new engagement ring. There were a lot of happy tears and a lot of love. Apparently everyone had been waiting for this day to come. Roman and Jimmy had merely grinned proudly, and just as Zainab suspected, they both knew that this was going down tonight, which was why they’d been so cryptic and secretive at breakfast. Jey and Zainab were so happy to have the support of both their wonderful families.
She couldn’t stop fawning over the sizable diamond glowing on her ring finger. “Baby, this rock is so big.”
Tumblr media
“Thought you liked big things,” Jey teased with a light squeeze of her waist, flashing her a knowing wink. 
“You know first-hand that I do. Oh my god, Jey…we're getting married!”
“Mm-hmm. I’m so fuckin’ lucky, babe, you have no idea,” he gushed. He cupped the side of her face and bent down to kiss her, gently at first, then harder, leaning into her. Zainab ran her hands up the bulge of his biceps, moaning into his mouth when his tongue lashed against hers and his hand slid over her ass, giving it a firm squeeze.
“You know, proposing to you wasn’t the only thing I imagined doing in this here pod,” he said.
One look at the heat in his eyes made her understand right away. “No. You wouldn’t.”
“That a dare, baby?” He moved his mouth down to her neck, a small groan rumbling through him as he nipped and licked her skin. It served as the perfect distraction for his hands to slip under her dress and massage the round, ample globes of her backside. 
“Babe, people can see us,” Zainab gasped, but melted into his arms anyway, “We’re gonna get in trouble. There’s cameras in here-”
“Fuck the cameras,” Jey dismissed. His penetrating stare shot tremors down her spine. "Do you know how fuckin’ hot you look tonight? Do you know the nasty shit I wanna do to you right now?”
She could already tell with the bulge pressing insistently against her. But she wanted to hear him say it. She couldn't quite think straight anyway. She wouldn't have been able to stop him if her life had depended on it. "Tell me, Daddy," she moaned.
"You drive me crazy when you dress up like this, baby, all sexy and provocative and shit…I seen dem thirsty ass motherfuckers at dinner, starin’ at you, wishing you were theirs...I wanted to bend your fine ass over our table and give you this dick in front of everybody. Let ‘em all know you mine."
“I will always be yours,” she whispered. "Always."
He walked her back to the bench, sitting down and pulling her to sit on him. As always, she fit perfectly on his lap, her ass resting between his muscular thighs. They hugged and kissed, his eager hands all over her body while she rocked back and forth against his hard erection. He took his time maneuvering her dress up to her waist, caressing her thighs the whole way and amplifying her already rabid need for him to be inside her. His fingers dipped beneath the lace edge of her panties, finding her wet and ready for him. He teased gently, lightly stroking her pussy lips, causing her to moan into his mouth. He knew just how to touch her, knew exactly how to make her body react to his every whim.
His hands slipped upwards to rest over her delectable bosom. “This a pretty ass bra, ma. You got it for me?”
“Yes, Daddy. You like it?” she asked. Jey answered her question by freeing her breasts from the confines like he was opening up a present. Her titties were nice and plump and made his mouth water. He eagerly took a nipple in his mouth and sucked while he massaged the other one.
“Baby…” she whimpered, hesitancy thick in her voice. 
“Z…” he growled, his lips giving her nipple a quick, audibly wet tug that momentarily short-circuited her brain, “Unless you tellin’ me to fuck you harder, ion wanna hear it.”
His mouth covered hers before she could speak again, and this time she completely surrendered to him, allowing his tongue to slide in and wrestle with hers to a no-contest. She unbuckled his belt and unzipped his pants to get access to him. As she pulled him out of his briefs and dragged her palm up and down the hard, smooth length of his cock, she gasped as he immediately tugged her new lace panties to the side and lowered her down onto him. The stretch was incredible, and they both moaned. She looked at her new fiancé, who sported a sexy smirk on his lips, watching her mouth fall open as she sat all the way down on his long, hard dick. They’d had sex many, many times together, but each time something new was awakened in her, even more so now as it occurred to her that anyone in the surrounding capsules could take a close look through the darkness and see what was happening. Her heart pounded in her chest in anticipation. She couldn’t believe this was actually happening, but she wasn’t going to stop it. 
She moved on top of him, moaning as his dick twitched inside her, welcomed by her warm depths. He grabbed her breasts again, kneading them expertly, which made her bite her bottom lip harder than intended. When he pinched her nipples, her back arched and her head hung back. His long fingers then met her waist as he leaned in to suckle her throat and smell her, basking in the pleasure and feral desperation in her voice. Her thighs locked around his hips, giving her a little leverage to lift herself up and down on him with ease. She was dripping but still so tight around him thanks to how endowed he was. 
“Damn, baby…keep ridin’ me like this and you gon’ be a mama in nine months,” Jey choked out, his eyes rolling back as she kept grinding herself on him, squeezing her walls snugly around his cock. “Imma give you all the babies, fuck, you feel so good…”
He already put a ring on it. Babies were the next step, surely. The thought of conceiving his child on the night of their wildest sexcapade yet, aroused her to no end. “Hmm, then breed me, Daddy,” Zainab groaned. Threading her fingers through his hair, she gave him a kiss so passionate that he moaned into her mouth, he then forced her to do the same when he smacked her ass, the sharp sting zipping down to her loins. The bench was not comfortable, but they were so into it, and the ambience was so romantic and sexy, that neither of them cared. 
“Unnnhhh god, baby,” she whined with her lips parted over his own, tasting his heavy breaths, “Shit, you feel so good inside me.”
"I can see that, you creamin’ all over me,” Jey looked down at her gyrating hips with a smirk. Her creamy mess had visibly smeared his exposed gray-colored briefs. “You love this dick, don't you, baby?" he taunted, flicking his tongue over her lips.
“Yes Daddy.”
“I know you do. Fuck me, beautiful, bounce on this dick.” His moans had dissolved to primal growls now, mingling with the soft music and the wet, slapping sounds of their lovemaking. She pushed him down flat on his back, and the surprise on his handsome features evaporated when she began riding him harder, taking his dick deeper inside her with each drop down, with each salacious roll of her backside. Her moans mingled with his groans as he started to bounce her himself, his hands clutching the meat of her hips, moving her more vigorously up and down. His pouty lips were parted and gasping in stereo with hers as he made her fuck him, that big dick meeting the sweetest of her spots. 
“Shit, Daddy, that dick in me!” she groaned. The atmosphere was so incredibly hot, she buried her face in his neck, moaning her pleasure as she felt herself start to tingle and throb. "Oh, fuck, Jey, I'm gonna come,” she breathed heavily, her voice vanishing into thin air as she bounced harder and faster on his dick, hunting down that potent high. She nearly lost her balance as it seized her, a glorious cascade of orgasm, her thighs quivering and skin humming as the explosion eviscerated her senses.
She felt him sit back upright and rise to his feet with her still in his arms, his mouth moving against hers with more purpose than usual. It wasn’t until she felt something cool and hard pressing against her bare back that she finally broke the kiss out of curiosity. Looking behind her, her heart stopped cold inside her chest.
Jey had pressed her directly against the clear glass wall of the capsule, with nothing below her but the twinkling lights of London. Zainab screamed and squirmed against his body, her head spinning with both fear and the remnants of her orgasm as she struggled to get away from the glass.
"Jesus! Fuck, Jey, what…" 
"Hey, hey, shhh," he whispered, keeping a careful hold around her trembling frame. His lips swept tenderly over her jawline as he tried to keep her calm. She was shaking, her arms and legs gripping him with the strength of a boa constrictor. "Breathe for me, Zainab. Look at me. Look at me."
She twisted her face away from the view, her pretty eyes wide and frightened. 
“I-I-I…”
“Calm down for me baby. Relax.” His mouth brushed along her throat, doing his part to quell her nerves. Her squirms subsided, but only a little. He could tell she still wanted to get away, but he kept her body firmly secured between himself and the glass. “Do you trust me?”
Right now, on the cusp of grave danger, she wasn’t so sure she did. “Yeah,” she finally ground out.
“Then you know I’ll never let anything happen to you. I gotchu.”
His kiss was gentle but insistent and full of reassurance. She felt his hand sneak along her hip, then the sharp tug of her panties pressing into her skin, and a tearing sound and the flimsy material falling away. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw him tuck the ruined undergarment into his back pocket. Keeping his body flush against hers, he molded her bare ass cheeks in his hands, grinding against her for a few seconds before sliding his dick back home. She clenched around his girth immediately, greedily, and Jey groaned softly as he worked himself into her with slow, winding circles that touched every single sweet spot her pussy possessed. He was a tight fit, always was. It felt so good that she couldn’t stop the moans that spilled from her lips.
“You like that, huh? Daddy’s gotchu,” he said, repeating the action again and again. He stared with wonder in his eyes at his love, the most wonderful woman in the world. “You so beautiful, baby. I love you so much.” Placing another gentle, calming kiss on her lips, he increased his pace. Zainab did what she could to block out the very real threat of the deathly drop behind her and focus on her fiancé now pounding into her. The sound of his body meeting hers was almost deafening in the exposed enclosure.
“Damn, Z, you soppin’ wet. I knew you’d like this shit. Love this pussy so much.” His expression was one of lust-filled triumph as he studied her face, the parting of her lips panting for him, goading him to angle his hips and fuck her harder and deeper, bottoming her out. “This turnin’ you on, huh, your ass and titties out, all of London watching you take my big dick…”
With another whimpering moan, her head rocked back against the glass as she felt her climax creep closer again. Her eyes fluttered shut as her nerves settled and more erogenous sensations took over. Her legs tensed around his waist as she rotated her hips in rhythm with his thrusts, each one pressing her ass deeper against the glass, making her wetter and wetter and bringing her closer to succumbing to that euphoric feeling that only her man, now her betrothed, could give her. Her breath was stolen from her as his dick continued to toy with her g-spot, his grunts and gasps warming her neck, her pussy walls quivering and rippling around his girth in reaction. “Fuck, Jey, right there…Mmm fuck, you ‘boutta make me come again!”
Holding his girl in place with his big strong hands, Jey intensified his strokes, his gruff voice grunting with the effort. "You fuckin’ right, baby, gimme that nut,” he mumbled, himself starting to unravel from the near-crippling pleasure. “Give it to me cuz it’s mine. Drain your pussy all over my dick."
Zainab hugged him even tighter, her nails digging through his shirt and into his back as her moans devolved to whimpers, and the faster he thrust into her, the further their bodies seemed to plunge from the same dizzying heights as the capsule they were in. She cried out as her release tore her apart, her walls suffocating his cock. Jey was right behind her, his guttural groan at the pulse of her throat, his dick lodged in the back of her pussy as he came just as hard for her. Desperately, she clenched around him, taking it all, milking him for everything he had as the world seemingly collapsed around them.
Seconds later, the A.I. woman’s voice popped up again to announce that the ride was descending in ten minutes. Jey leaned in for a breathless kiss as he pulled out of her and finally edged her away from the glass. She clung to him as he carried her back to the bench. He pulled wet wipes seemingly out of nowhere and cleaned her up, sharing more kisses with her while helping each other redress. 
“You good?” he asked, smoothing her hair back into place and drawing her legs onto his lap.
Zainab nodded, biting her lip as the last of her climax rippled between her squeezed thighs. “I can’t believe we just did that.”
“You loved it though,” he said, his deep voice seductively low as he stroked her thigh. “Don’t lie to Daddy now. I could tell you loved every second, you got so wet for me, babe...”
There was so much amusement and cockiness and love in his eyes. All for her. “You always make me wet, Daddy,” she admitted, glancing back at the sheet of glass she’d been trapped against just moments ago. She had to give him his props for his highly unique sense of adventure. “You think we’ll still be this lit after we’re married?” she questioned.
“Ay, as long as we work on it, together, like we been doin’, and we don’t let none of that outside noise creep in…we’ll be good. That’s what I want for us, Z.”
She liked that answer a lot. It was what she wanted, too. “I made you a promise earlier that if I enjoyed myself, you can eat me when we get back. My offer still stands,” she noted, batting her long lashes at him.
Jey smiled like the cat who got the cream. Literally. Picking out a truffle from the box, he popped it into his mouth and licked up the morsel that stained his finger.
“Mmm. I bet this goes great with pussy,” he commented with a sly smirk.
Fuck. Zainab’s throat went dry and her body instantly flooded with heat, despite having been thoroughly fucked just minutes ago. “You might be right,” she uttered back.
The capsule finally came to a safe stop on the ground, bringing the ride to an end. Jey and Zainab settled for a few more chocolatey smooches as the pod's doors opened. Expecting to be confronted about their antics by someone in authority, they were relieved when no one approached. The newly-engaged couple walked out hand in hand with big dreamy smiles on their faces, eager to retreat to their far more private hotel suite to continue their raunchy celebrations.
They took the box of chocolates with them…for research purposes, of course.
THE END
---------------
I really enjoy writing soft Jey.
Please leave comments. I love comments!
Banner made by me. Jey gif by @jeysuso. Credit to owners of all the other pics and gifs.
TAG SQUAD: @thesamoanqueen @harmshake @jxtina-86 @romanreignseater @herwickedlittlesins @harlem11680 @fame-ass-ers @southerngirl41 @alyyaanna @squishyguishy @jstarr86 @murrylove @reci24 @thewarlordsworld @mzv11 @cozyaliensuperstar7 @jeysuso @nayys-world @hunnidmilly @cyberdejos2 @papireigns-05 @niknakbucks92 @captainwithoutmakingitlove @sovereigngoth @aisharmi
Click here if you want to be on the tag list.
255 notes · View notes
omnicrafts · 1 year
Text
Danny is a young adult living his life and had for a short time interned at Lexcorp and had a Bad Time™ for completely normal reasons like shitty bosses, rude coworkers, paperwork delays, other interns just randomly quitting, and now they're trying to make him do their work bc it was last minute, being bitchy about showing up 2-8 minutes late for shift (to the point Danny ALMOST passive aggressively just haunted the building instead of having a stupid flat.)
So he decides to not only aggressively detail every minor-major Labor Law Violation, as well as various OSHA Office Workspace Violations, but also document the shady lab experiments in the sub-basement, dual binders with one of unethical practice evidence and the other for OSHA Violations.
Now imagine being Lois Lane at the Daily Planet office minding your business and using Clark as a spell checker like usual. And this lanky white haired, green-eyed guy materializes next to the cubicle. He's wearing a black Detective Hat, Gray Trench, and a pair of thin dark sunglasses. Under the trench coat it looks like he's wearing a heavy-duty rubber hazmat suit complete with sealed boots.
He drops four thick binders on the desk in a clear spot. "So, either you can expose all of it or, like, pick some people to share the glory, but these detail every Osha workplace and lab safety violation of Lexcorp from the last three months alone, and this one is Unethical Lab and experiment practices, and the last one here are just six months of Labor Law Violations involving the Intern program and filing offices. If anyone asks your source, just say it was an employee that wishes to remain anonymous and goes by Gray Ghost." and then is just GONE.
(Danny being kind of a fan of how okay Brucie seems after finding out what his favorite show is and that it's actually dope sound so funny to me) Danny "I don't fuck with Billionaires. They disappoint me." Fenton Phantom: Fuck the Uber rich. Brucie's cool, but on thin ice. I'd fuck with Tim Drake-Wayne tho. Tucker: like in the bedroom sense or in, like, playing pranks? Danny: Wouldn't you like to know, Pharaoh boy? Sam & Tucker: Disowned. Danny: *sipping his 20 shot expresso* I deserved that.
Anyway, that build up was leading to a Coffee shop meet cute between 21 yr old Danny and Leather Jacket and Piercings Superboy Kon-el where Danny's been awake for almost 48 hours compiling his binders and posting his 2-week notice yesterday. He's convinced the barista to give him three Heart Attacks and a Stroke in a cup, but on the way out some rando bumps him, and it drops.
Danny in the Obama meme deadpan: Thanks, Luthor. Kon-el who caught it before it hit the ground: uh... Danny just noticing that his cups being held out to him by the Hottest dude he's seen since moving here: Oh, oh holy shit, it lives! I could kiss you right now, thanks, man.
Danny downs half of it while Kon is still frozen in shock and confusion and maybe a second round of Gay Panic™ he hasn't dealt with since he figured out that maybe he's a little bit into how nice it is to just like be within ten feet of Tim and when they started, maybe kind of dating, but Tim is afraid of verbal commitment for understandable reasons! And Danny's like, 'my hero, I might survive today after all.' Kisses him full on the mouth and leaves like this is a normal thing that just Happens™
Danny ends up stalked by Superboy and Red Robin bc Kon suspects this guy is a clone, but why would Luthor clone Tim? And it's only MORE concerning when Tim goes, "Huh, was wondering who would try that first. My money was on Ra's but makes more sense he'd be a perfectionist and only want the real thing."
Kon: Tim, that... do you ever hear the collections of words that leave your mouth sometimes, or is it like white noise to you? Tim: Bold of you to assume I have ever had a single thought in my life.
Kon's second theory is this is Luthor's new pet protégé, clone or not, and unfortunately for Danny he's Luthor's prime suspect for the detailed leak of very finable and/or arrestable evidence of failure to follow laws bc of the 2 week notice.
Luthor: I'm not accusing you, of course. Danny who's so far over Rich people threatening him he has no fear: Oh man that would suck if you were bc I was under the impression that it was good manners, much like the thank you for the interview letter, to give notice of intent to move on from a position. I'm glad we had a chance to talk Mr Luthor, but if I was going to try to fuck over my employer while hiding well enough it got to a reporter before you, I wouldn't give a notice, I'd just vanish. Now if you'll excuse me I need to go wrap up my assignments to lighten the impact of leaving next week.
[Important note, at not point in the following exchange does Tim look at Kon. His focus is fully on the floor to ceiling window showing Danny in Luthor's office talking.] Tim: If he's not my clone but evil, we convert him to our side, and you date both of us and I date both of you, and he dates both of us. Kon: ???? O-Okay? We'll come back to this conversation. What if he's your clone? Tim: Evil or not Evil? Kon: Either, I know you have plans for both. Tim: Convert to our side, obviously if evil, but either way I have a new brother, He looks like a bastard our pranks will be legendary at the manor. Plus, I think we'd do incredible case work together. Kon: Yeah, okay, we're still circling back to that dating thing you were talking about later at home. [At this point, Danny is pacing some while gesturing and pretending to help Luthor ferret out his Mole. Using two people who he knows very much ARE double agents working for other companies (One is a supervisor on Danny's office floor and has the WORST coffee order he's picky about and not even for dietary reasons' no it's just to be an ass)(The other one keeps stealing people's lunches out of the fridge and seems to pick food with particularly specific notes about diet restrictions of the meals. Danny thinks this fucker likes inconveniencing people who can't just shove any kind of food in their face.)] Tim, whispering extra softly: We'll have an Autumn Wedding. Kon who loves this feral disaster of a human: ????????????
This is a TimDanKon ship fic.
685 notes · View notes
Text
So I know this post is pretty overdue and a bit superfluous by this point maybe, but since I am now back home and finally have time to sit down and write down my thoughts about the last few days, I thought I'd still do a recap post of my experience of the Dublin shows (and a bit about my trip to Dublin in general). Just for anyone who might be interested or even just for me to remember everything by!
Having said that though, I don’t actually know how to even begin putting into words what this trip meant to me 🥺 I’ve said this before, but after seeing them in June and thinking that was it for the foreseeable future, getting to see them again so soon, twice, and it being the very last two shows of the tour as well, felt like an incredible opportunity and huge gift and I could not be more grateful for it ❤️
Tumblr media
Recap of Dublin shows 3 & 4 and some more pics below the cut!
I flew in from Amsterdam on Tuesday morning with a Dutch friend, and we met up with another friend of mine who flew in from London at the same time (my London friend went with me to Tuesday's gig, and my Amsterdam friend to Thursday's gig)
London friend and I then headed to the 3Arena to queue up outside and it was fucking freezing lmao. But we played ‘guess the Arctic Monkeys song from the intro’ and had a chance to catch up so all in all it wasn’t too bad, and it’s always so much fun being surrounded by fellow arctic monkeys fans who love them enough to queue up for hours in the cold <3
Once we were inside, we legged it to the stage and then spent another two hours trying to defend our (pretty good, very central) spots and trying not to think about the fact that we had to pee, as you do. We happened to be standing next to a group of Dutch speaking girls, and it turned out one of them had also met Miles in Amsterdam recently, at the same signing I’d been at! Such a small world. But they were really lovely so the two hours flew past, and then it was Miles time!!!!! 🥰
And my god, he literally blew everyone away, he was just insanely good as always. My friend was not really a Miles fan before the gig, and then while he was playing, she kept going “holy shit minnie he’s so good??” and I was like “TOLD YOU”, so now she’s a big fan as well, which is honestly very satisfying 😌 There were so many amazing moments during his set, but the one that stayed with me most I’ve already talked about in this post. It was honestly just…. very intense and really hard to explain in a non-shippy way? Even my non-shipper friend was like… hmm ok yes, that seems very significant 🤔
But anyway, Miles rocked the house, and then it was only a short wait until the main show. And while most of it is a blur because I just lose my mind when I see my boys play, I did make sure to really absorb some special moments and things I really wanted to remember. Being able to clearly see Alex’s intense, goofy and beautiful facial expressions, his HANDS, the cute little interactions he had with the rest of the band (giggles with Matt and smiley asides with Jamie and Nick), the moment where Alex made grabby hands at the plushie and then laughed some more when he couldn’t have it, Jamie being an absolute rockstar as always, Nick looking like a total snack (my friend has a giant crush on Nick, understandably so), Matt being a literal drum god (I love seeing him play SO much). Just... incredible 🙌🏻💘
I really wasn’t expecting Miles to join them during that show, so when Alex gave him a shoutout I knew it was just that, but my friend didn’t, so she started hitting me like “he’s coming back!” and I was like “no he’s not”, and he wasn’t unfortunately lmao. The Dutch and Belgian girls next to me were extremely disappointed (they were Milex shippers as well, of course), but I know at least one of them was there on Thursday as well so I love that for her. Other memorable moments were Alex singing the “remember when you used to be a rascal” line followed by “do you remember? I remember” after which I yelled at my friend “Miles used to be a rascal!!!” and then later I found out Miles was actually on that side of the stage 😭😭 Even though I didn’t find out about that until later, I definitely noticed that Alex kept gesturing towards that side of the stage (the Star Treatment intermezzo was wild, I was like, “WHO is he pointing at for the dolls like you and me thing??” And then it turned out to be Miles 🫠
Another thing I noticed was that the average age of the crowd was way lower than I’m used to it being, which my friend explained may have something to do with tiktok? Lmao idk, hut the the standing crowd did mostly consist of younger, shorter girls for some reason lol, so there wasn’t as much jumping as I’d have liked there to be. My friend and I just went for it regardless, even if we were some of the only people going crazy. But you just have to, you know what I mean? Anyway, it was such an incredible show and after it ended, we were just on cloud nine, singing Fluorescent Adolescent with everyone on the Luas going back to town, which is always just such a blast. And then we ended up in Temple Bar where there was more live music as well as about 500 other Arctic Monkeys fans, so that was great fun too 💫
The next day, the three of us went to a tattoo shop where I’d booked an appointment and I got my tattoo which I am EXTREMELY happy with. The tattoo artist was a girl from Brazil and when she asked me about the meaning of my tattoo (I’ll post a pic later) I told her it was an Arctic Monkeys song and the just yelled across the shop to a few other artists and it turned out they’d been at the concert too, so we all geeked out about them while I got my tattoo done lmao, so much fun 😂
Then my London friend unfortunately had to fly back home later that day, so my Amsterdam friend and I ended up in the pub again because that’s what we do. It was just a very average pub with two very average men playing amazing folk music, and when we walked in, I was like “huh that guy looks like Zackery Michael, that’s funny.” And then later I was stood next to him at the bar and heard he was American, so I was like hmmm, and decided to just ask him if he was in fact Zackery Michael. He was like “that is me!” lol (thank god, would’ve been embarrassing if it hadn’t been) so we had a little chat about the fact that we were both in town for Arctic Monkeys but in slightly different capacities lol, and he was just super nice and was happy to take a photo with me, and then I let him get back to his conversation with the three extremely pretty girls he was with 😅
Anyways, so then on Thursday after breakfast we bought some souvenirs and I bought some great Arctic Monkeys mini posters and some other stuff at this lovely little comic book/record store which was playing Humbug, the owner of which told us he also went to see Arctic Monkeys on Tuesday and loved them, so that was another amazing chance meeting 💜 And then it was after 12pm so it was time for whiskey, and then the meeting with the fellow TLSP/Arctic Monkeys/Miles Kane fan bartender happened which I posted about here, which was so lovely and also secretly made me want to believe it was a sign for the show that night 🙈
But I still couldn’t let myself hope or believe TOO much, so I just kept telling my friend “they’re not going to do it and that’s okay” and she was like “sure, whatever you say” 😂 We had seated tickets for this gig, so we were unfortunately much further away than I had been on Tuesday. And also I just don’t like being seated at concerts, let alone an Arctic Monkeys one, but to be honest, the seats were pretty good. Miles once again gave his absolute all and converted not just my Dutch friend as well, but also a lot of the people around us who we overheard saying things like “did you know he was this good??” and checking Miles’s Wikipedia page, which was great to see. And from up on the balcony we could clearly see that the people in the crowd were really singing along and having an amazing time during Miles’s set (COTT was extremely emotional, all the lights were so lovely ✨️) and I just felt so proud of him and happy for him that it was such a roaring success 🥹💖
The roaring success continued for Arctic Monkeys of course, although it was really weird to see so many people go mental for Snap Out Of It and Arabella etc. 😅 But yeah, the people do love AM it seems, which is why the first part of the setlist was pretty much the same as it had been on Tuesday. Hello You was amazing though!! And then after There’d Better Be a Mirrorball, I knew that it was 505 time, and Alex did say ‘Let’s hear it for Miles Kane’. But because it was the same thing he’d said before, I was still convinced Miles wouldn’t come on. AND THEN HE DID 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭 I absolutely lost my shit, not even kidding. I just started screaming and threw my phone at my poor friend being like “FILM IT” which she did, bless her heart, and uhhh, yeah then I cried throughout the whole performance 😭 And then at the end, the lights went out and I saw their shadows (our shadow puppets <3) coming together so I was like did they hug??? And then I only found out later that evening when I checked tumblr that they in fact did hug and then my night was just completely made (lol, I say my night but I mean my life, obviously)
Do I Wanna Know was a total blur after that of course, but I was back for Body Paint which was absolutely incredible as always. And then they did Big Ideas as the encore and uuhhh yeah I sobbed 🙃 It was SO beautiful, and so special hearing it live with the strings, and SO fucking sad. And then once RU Mine? finished and the lights stayed off, I was like aaahhh we’re getting one more!! And then OF COURSE it was Perfect Sense because Alex is a dramatic bastard, and of course I cried some more. It was stunning and extremely emotional 💔
So then my friend and I went to drown my sorrows (and elation about the Milex reunion) in the pub and we actually had a great time with some fellow AM fans and live music again. I swear it was like all of Dublin was just there for Arctic Monkeys. Unfortunately, we were not in the pub where the boys apparently went ugh, but still, it was fun. And yesterday morning I woke up with a killer hangover so I swore I would not drink anymore, but it was raining so much, so we did end up in the pub again where we got talking to some really cool Irish guys who (surprise) also loved Arctic Monkeys, and they insisted on buying us drinks so obviously I couldn’t decline. So we just sat and drank with them until we had to catch our flight, and of course by that time I was tipsy and maudlin and the weather wasn’t helping so I cried all the way to the airport (especially since we passed the arena again) and then I cried some more in the airport like the drama queen I am 🥲
It’s just that I’m so sad it’s over, and so scared and worried about the future of the band, with how much this felt like a goodbye 😔 But I’m just going to assume that it’s just goodbye for now, and that they’ll take a well-deserved break, maybe do their own things for a while, and that in a few years’ time they’ll get back to making music together again. I really do think they have so much fun doing what they do together, and they’re basically like family, and Alex wouldn’t know what to do with himself if he couldn’t make music, so surely they’ll be back eventually. But please, just don’t be too long boys 🥺🙏🏻❤️
All in all, though, what has stayed with me most from this trip is a sense of gratefulness that I was lucky enough to experience all this, my 8th and 9th Arctic Monkeys gigs to date, the last dates of the tour, the Milex reunion (!!!!!!!) and to get to share it with two of my best friends in the world, a whole bunch of arctic monkeys loving strangers who I randomly met, and all of you guys I’ve met on here these past few months. The sense of connection and community I’ve found through this band means so much to me, more than I can say, actually, and I’m so grateful to them for that, in addition to the music they’ve given us. And although the tour is over, I am honestly looking forward to sharing the love we have for them with you all for a long time to come and for now, I am so excited about getting back to writing my silly little Milex stories (and insanely happy they finally gave us that little reunion we hope for, so that I’m still excited and hopeful about their relationship rather than heartbroken and resigned, which is what I probably would’ve been if they hadn’t performed together. So thank you for that, boys 💘)
So yes. Very, VERY long story short: Arctic Monkeys is and always will be my favourite band in the world, they ended the tour on an absolute high (and with Miles!) and this was an experience I will never, ever forget ❤️
Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media
81 notes · View notes
levirgil420 · 1 year
Text
A Zaddy ? (Jose Pedro Balmaceda Pascal x male reader fluff)
Request: Helloooo dear friend. May I request a fluff with Jose Pedro Balmaceda Pascal ? Reader and Pedro are joking around in an interview and accidentally confirm they're dating please🙏 Male reader! 
Pairings: Jose Pedro Balmaceda Pascal x male reader 
Synopsis:  It’s time for thirst tweet !
Tw: Thirst tweet, spicy fluff, Daddy kink (it’s Pedro Pascal so)
Note: Heey ! It took me a long time and I’m sorry for that but here it is, I hope you will like. Thanks again for requesting it, it was fun to write this :)
Tumblr media
Dating Pedro is amazing, he is sweet, funny and you never find yourself without a smile beacause of his goofiness. The two of you met on the set of “The Mandalorian” and since your first conversation, you were always together. It was not a surprise when Pedro asked you to be his boyfriend after 2 years of friendship and it was not a surprise when you said yes.
Your decided to keep your relationship secret, only your families and closes, closes fiends knew about it and it was perfect. The only things which was complicated was to not shows any affection to the other when you were on the red carpet or in an interview. Especially when the both of you can’t keep your hands on each other.This didn't go unnoticed by your fans and internet became a mess a debates of "yes or no you two are together". It was fun and neither you or Pedro were helping with the time to time "friendly photo" posted on Instagram which increases more the doubt of it.
You were now doing the promo for your new show "The last of us" with your co-stars. It was amazing receving all the thanks from the fan of the game and the interviewers were really nice with everyone. At the same time, you were also making all the famous youtube videos, which brings us to this very moment: having to read the famous thirst tweet proposed by BuzzFeed:
Y/N: Hi ! I'm Y/N L/N
Pedro: I'm Jose Perdo Balmaceda Pascal !
Y/N: And we are here for the thirsts tweet.
Pedro: You're welcome.
You looked at each other before laughing.
??: Guys we didn't even start.
Pedro: Right right sorry, you have the honor of reading the first one darling.
Y/N: Why thank you Honey. Here we go : "I'm sure that Y/N's and Pedro Pascal's hugs are the sweetest."
Pedro: Only Y/N's
Y/N: That's not the truth, he has the best one. But yeah we give a lot of big hugs ! Thank you it was a nice one.
Pedro: Okay my turn: "The last of us : two daddies all sweaty for us to see. They know what they are doing."
Pedro laugh to himself and you gave him a sort of funny stare.
Y/N: What ?
Pedro: Welcome to the "Daddy club".
Y/N: What an honour, please teach me your ways.
You laugh too when Pedro lightly shoves you. 
Y/N: But yeah we are sweating a lot in this show.
Pedro: Thanks the director.
It was your turn to read the next one and before reading it out loud, you show it to your lover and you share a look of somewhat understanding.
Y/N: "They're together, no one can change my mind and having a threesome with them is a goal for me."
The both of you respond at the same time.
Pedro: Yes we are !
Y/N: No thanks.
Your head had never turned that fast when you heard what Pedro has said. He looks at you and with the look of shock written on your face he realised what was happening. Not a sound was heard, not even the people in the back to tell you to continue.
Y/N: Did you just spill out that we are together ?
Pedro: Huum yeah maybe ?
He made one of his best goofy smile and you can't help but laugh of what is happening. You softly hit your boyfriend on the shoulder making him laugh in return.
Y/N: Idiot.
Pedro: Well you love me.
Y/N: Unfortunately yes.
Pedro: Hey !
It was Pedro's turn to kindly hit you however the smile on both of your face never disappears.
Pedro: I think this video will be the perfect way to annonce it
Y/N: No shit, Internet will explode because of us.
Pedro: And there will be so much more edits.
You groan a little but you are somewhat relieved that you will not need to hide your relationship anymore amd finally free to show your love for Pedro in public.
???: Do you want to continue ?
Y/N: Oh absolutely, it's not this that will stop us to read thirst tweet.
Pedro: And don't cut what happened.
Pedro took the next tweet.
Pedro: "I want to be crushed by Y/N's thighs. Please choke me." Haha me too
He smiles at the camera and your eyes widened
Y/N: Oh god...but I mean, if you want ? Might hurt a little bit.
You read the one you pick and nod your head.
Y/N: "I'm the only one who think that Pedro's moustache is the most sexy thing in the world ? Like eat me with this like a starved man ?" Yes, mustaches are sexy and his is the best you can find.
Pedro: Thank you. A lot of peoples started to likes mustaches in this year.
Y/N: Yeah, thanks to Miles Teller or Aaron Tailor-Johnson and certainly you.
Pedro laugh loudly when you touch his mustache but doesn't stop you.
You continue to read the suggested thirst tweets fpr the video while responding with your own answers, laughing with the people behind the camera and, since the truth has vome out, flirting with each like two teenagers.
You held the last tweet for Pedro to read. He had a moment of confusion as he read it, stumbling over one word in particular :
Pedro: "Agree with me but Pedro is a Zaddy."
A Zaddy ? What is it ? I heard it before but I don't remember.
You blush at this tweet but explain to him what  is the meaning.
Y/N: Well, it's kind of the next level of the Daddy state of mind. Much older and more charismatic. It suits you.
Pedro: Oh ! I remember ! It's what you called me last-
Y/N: Nope.
You quickly cover his mouth with your hands, wearing a beautiful blush and a flushed face.
Giving the best smile you have, you look at the camera, still covering Pedro's mouth.
Y/N: Well it's the end of the thirst tweets. Thank you for watching us and thank you for watching "The Last of Us". I hope will like it ! Bye !
Pedro waves goodbye too and the video ended here. After the two of you went backstage in your “room”, you looked at each other before bursting of laughing.
Pedro: It was so fun Love !
Y/N: Yeah, it was ! Get ready for the next week to be the only subject on Twitter Honey.
Pedro nod his head and stare at you with a loving stare. He takes you in his arm and yours went on his neck, scratching his hair. Kssing you softly on your lips, you did the same with all the love you have for him.
Pedro: I love you my handsome boyfriend.
Y/N: And I love you more my handsome man.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Thank you so much for reading this ! I hope you enjoyed this story !
Comments and reblogs are highly appriciated !
Sorry for my mistakes, english is not my first language :)
321 notes · View notes
pinkcrocss · 8 days
Text
Limoreau #3: A Sense of Belonging
A/n: Hahaha! Another one-shot... Okay, I solemnly swear, I am not allowed to post anything else until I've posted at least one chapter of one of my two multi-chapter fics.
What can I say? When inspiration hits, it hits.
Heavily inspired by this amazing fan art by @beelze0-0
Jordan is sick of other people pushing their expectations on them...
1,900 words
“I’m super inclusive! So welcome to God U. We’d love to have you.”
“CUT!”
Jordan looked up at the director, from where they were perched on a picnic table out at the student quad. They couldn’t believe they had let themself be roped into this shit. But Brink had said taking part in this video would help keep eyes on them, further bumping up their q-ratings which would in turn help them in the rankings.
 “Hey Jordan! Look, I’m glad you agreed to do this and we’re so happy to have you representing our esteemed establishment, but we were actually kind of hoping you would film this in your female body.”
The stout director must have seen the frown on Jordan’s face because he hastily added, “It’s just that when it comes to inclusivity, a female spokesperson tracks better! It’s no big deal.”
“Easy for you to say.” Jordan thought as they reluctantly switched forms, feeling their clothes get a little looser and their hair suddenly touching their shoulders.
The director looked relieved as he headed back behind the camera.
“And go!”
Jordan started in on their rehearsed line, “I’m super inclusive! So we-“
“Cut!”
Jordan tried not to let any frustration bleed into their expression. 
”What seems to be the issue?” They tried to look cooly at the director.
“Do you think you could smile a bit more when you say the line? We’re trying to go for a more pleasant, feminine energy here.” 
Jordan could feel the plastered on smile on their face pulling tight at their skin.
“Actually, Erica! You think we could have makeup come over, maybe some blush and a touch of lip gloss would help.” The director went on.
Jordan went along with the rest of the shoot. A mantra running through their head for every minute that went by, “It will be worth it when I’m in the seven… it’ll be worth it when I’m in the seven…”
Hours later, Jordan sat at their desk outside of Brink’s office typing diligently on their laptop, as they graded Brink’s last batch of crimefighting essays. Glancing at their phone to check the time, they swore as they realised they only had ten minutes before they were supposed to be meeting with their parents at a restaurant across campus. Already they could see a barrage of unanswered texts from their dad.
Exhaling a long breath, they finished up their latest essay before packing up their things and rushing out of the crimefighting building. By the time they made it to just outside the restaurant, they were already 5 minutes late.
Catching their reflection in the window, they briefly panicked, realising that they were still in their female form. Not at all in the mood for an evening of barbed comments and sour looks from their dearest parents, they hastily transformed into their male form, feeling their body grow heavier as their hair shortened to right above their ears.
Walking in, they could feel the weight of their dad’s disappointed gaze. 
“Jordan?” He said. “You’re late! What do I always tell you? A man must always honour his commitments, right?”
Jordan could only take a deep breath, readying themselves for an evening of similar comments. 
“Yeah, dad. It was my bad. I was busy grading for professor Brink and-“
“Ah! Professor Brink! How is he doing?” Their mother cut them off. 
“I hope he’s been taking care of my little man.” At this point, she had gotten up and rounded the table to pull them into a tight hug.
“Well, not so little anymore. Look how how tall you are!” She grabbed his bicep. “And so strong! I hope you’re not overdoing yourself.”
“I’m fine mom.” they responded, slipping out of her grasp.
Sitting down, they opened up the menu and began scanning the options as their dad flagged the waiter. Having settled on a simple pasta dish, Jordan leaned back and settled themselves more comfortably as they waited for the waiter to approach.
Having gotten a passing waiters attention, their dad turned to them before suddenly donning a frustrated look on his face.
“Jordan.”
Jordan sat up, curious as to their dad’s sudden change of mood.
“Please… just sit like a man. You look ridiculous.”
Jordan followed their dad’s eye-line down to their legs, which they had subconsciously crossed as they had been getting comfortable. Flushing with embarrassment, they slowly uncrossed their legs and sat up, avoiding eye contact with their dad.
Seemingly satisfied, their dad decided to change the topic.
“Speaking of Brink… what’s the plan to get you ranked #1, huh? I noticed your social trending has been flagging a little.”
Jordan tried not to roll their eyes. Sometimes, it was hard not to feel like they were just a trophy to their parents. Something to take off the shelf and dust off in front of company, then put it right back away when there was no more use for it.
“Yeah, um.. I’m actually gonna be in the new campus welcome video for the incoming year. So that should help a bit with social recognition.” Jordan tried not to think about the disappointment on their faces, when they saw which form they appeared in in the video.
“Also, my combat stats are the highest on campus so far.” 
For a moment, their parents actually seemed to perk up at the news, both wearing expressions akin to haughty pride. 
Feeling confident, Jordan continued. “Yeah, and especially when I switch forms I’ve gotten more agile so Brink came up with this manuever wh-“
“Switch forms?”
Jordan immediately realised their mistake as their dad’s face morphed into a sour expression.
“Jordan!” Their dad was aggressively whispering now, as if afraid that other people in the restaurant would find out about what he considered, the more undesirable aspect of Jordan’s abilities.
“We’ve talked about this. You don’t need that part. Your strength, you’re invulnerability, that’s what’s going to get you to the Seven. Now stop embarrassing us and act more like the young man we raised!”
Jordan wanted to argue, but was scared of what might come out of their mouth if they did. Instead, they remained silent, face pinched, once again feeling like their skin was stretched too tight over their muscles and bone.
Finally seeing their waiter approach, their mother looked grateful for the excuse to change the topic of conversation.
“It will all be worth it… It will all be worth it…” Jordan kept reminding themself. They had to.
It was getting dark by the time Jordan was making their way back to the dorms. Shooting that video earlier that morning, grading all of Brink’s essays, a disastrous lunch with their parents, followed by a two hour lecture at their least favourite subject, Hero ethics, and all Jordan wanted to do was crawl under their covers and never wake up again.
Jordan felt stretched thin. Like a rubber band about to snap. But still they reminded themselves to just hold it together until they made it back to their dorm room.
It was days like this that Jordan was grateful that they no longer lived in the freshman dorms, and that their top ten status gave them leverage for a single room. Not having to worry about annoying roommates or being considerate of another person in their space, was a blessing they would never stop being grateful for.
However, as they neared their door, they got the distinct impression that they wouldn’t be alone tonight. Some niggling sense in the back of their mind told them someone would be on the other side of that door, so they weren’t surprised at all when they walked into their room to find Marie lounging on their bed, watching some kind of show on her V-pad[1] that she must have brought with her. 
She looked comfortable, stretched out in a pale blue sports bra and soft, black leggings. Jordan had surprised her with an illegally made copy of their dorm key about a month prior and had offered her use of their room whenever she needed to get away (really it was just an excuse to see her more often without sounding desperate. But hey, Jordan had an image to maintain).
Marie had set aside her V-pad to look up at them, gracing them with a blinding smile. “Hey, baby! How was your day?”
Jordan wasn’t sure how she did it, or what magic potion Marie seemed to possess, but at the moment she might have as well have been an oasis in a scorching desert Jordan had been traversing for weeks now.
Without thinking, they threw their bag to the side, uncaring of where it landed and dove towards her on the bed (careful to keep much of their weight off her, as they were still in their male form).
Obviously, they weren’t completely successful as Marie gave a beleaguered “Hmph” as they landed on her; wrapping their arms around her torso and snuggling their face into her soft belly.
They could hear her giggling above them.
“Hey.” They felt her rest a hand on the back of their neck. “Is everything okay? What do you need?”
“Nothing.” Jordan mumbled, their voice muffled as they pressed further into her. “Just this.”
Jordan basked in the warmth of Marie’s embrace, drowning themself in the vanilla scent of her skin. They needed to figure out what body lotion she used, so they could steal it for themself.
After a while, they finally had the energy top look up, only to find that Marie was already looking at them. What they saw in her eyes was nothing but warmth and adoration reflected back at them. 
Jordan was still in disbelief that they could be the recipient of a look like that, from Marie Moreau of all people! That was something that they would never stop being grateful for.
For a good minute, the two were seemingly locked in an intense staring match, neither willing to break the spell that had been woven in their little embrace.
A sudden curious thought popped into Jordan’s head, and without thinking, they suddenly switched into their female form. Continuing to stare into Marie’s eyes, they were shocked to find that her gaze remained exactly the same. Just warmth, adoration and acceptance. There hadn’t even been a momentary shock at the sudden change.
Jordan was fully overcome with a feeling they couldn’t decipher, and before they could reconsider, they were surging up towards Marie, kissing her with every intense emotion that they could muster. Gratefulness, all-encompassing trust, and love.
Marie of course was delighted, gently laughing into the kiss as she held their face with both hands, while caressing their cheek.
Kissing Marie always felt like a warm, heated blanket on a snowy day. Like solace. Like home.
Only when the need for air became desperate, did Jordan pull away, snuggling back into her torso as they felt Marie start stroking her fingers through their hair.
Jordan was so warm and lulled by the comforting motion, that they almost missed Marie’s question.
“Feeling any better?”
The answer came unbidden. they didn’t even have to look up.
“Yes. much, much better.”
[1] Remember Marie got a bunch of free tech from Vought when she made it to the top ten rankings.
26 notes · View notes
jasntodds · 1 year
Text
Caving In [1]
Tumblr media
Pairing: Gar Logan x Fem!Powered!Reader, Jason Todd x Fem!Powered!Reader
Words: 13,538
Chapter Warnings: Swearing, angst, mentions of various injuries including a mention of road rash, bruises, cuts, and a burn, mentions of death, some fluff I suppose, a mention of drug addiction, jason todd is a smartass and so is the reader, reader gets arrested (not long and doesn’t go to the station or anything like that), a mention of the Joker and Two-Face
Summary: ❝Tell me Atlas: What is heavier, The world or its people’s hearts?❞ You never expected your life to end up this way, turned upside down by an infamous Gotham villain. It’s been a living hell, every single day, until Dick Grayson brings you to Titans tower where you meet Gar Logan and Jason Todd.
A/N: I came out of the gate swinging with a long chapter. But, I have literally been writing this every single day for a month straight and I have never been more excited about posting a series before. I am VERY proud of this series so please lemme know what you guys think!! I am easily motivated to post more often when I get feedback 😂 The first few chapters take place between season 2 episode 1 and season 2 episode 2. You can add yourself the tag list below, ask me to be tagged, or you can follow my library blog @jasntoddslibrary​  and turn on notifications if you prefer that!!
series masterlist | masterlist | tag list
Tumblr media
You didn’t have what you would consider a horrible childhood. In the grand scheme of things, it could have been a hell of a lot worse. You had a mom who loved you and did her absolute best to provide for you. You rarely ever fought and your mom took care of you. You had a few friends, none that really stuck around when shit hit the fan, but you don’t blame them. So, you had some friends and that was cool while it lasted. Your dad was ad deadbeat addict you only remember seeing once and the way you see it, good riddance. You had your mom.
Had.
However, that was then and this is now where you’re standing on the street, using a car window breaker to break into a car late at night in the middle of Gotham City. Gotham has a habit of breeding some real fucked up psychos. You’re almost positive it has got be the water and it’s only a matter of time before everyone in the city either turns into Batman and Robin or The Joker and The Riddler. The psycho doesn’t care who you are and if you have a family, they take and take and laugh in the face of everyone else’s agony. So, here you are breaking into a car as you’ve done for last few months since the Joker decided to do what he does best. Kill.
Whenever you break into a car, which is almost nightly now, you remember judging those who did before because this is someone else’s property. They probably worked hard for it and who are you to take it from them. But, no one ever said surviving was easy. You get it now, a little guilty about it but not guilty enough to stop.
“Sweet.” You huff to yourself, smile on your face as you find a hundred dollars in the center console. “Idiot.” You mumble as you stuff it in your pocket.
You rummage around the car some more, hoping to find more. If the person was dumb enough to leave a hundred dollars, maybe there’s something you could sell. You push around a few unimportant things like papers and a pair of old shoes, not finding much. With the shrug of a shoulder, you consider this car a win and back out of the car only for the flashing of red and blue to catch your attention from your peripheral.
“Ah, fuck me.” You groan, turning on your heels and sprinting as fast as your legs will let you down a close alleyway.
The sirens sound behind you. There’s still a smile plastered across your face with the lights behind you and your feet smacking puddles. The city lights guide you in and out of other alleys and down side streets. It’s a bit of a thrill. The air is wet on your skin, thick with moisture from the previous storm. The city streets have that smell of wet pavement and fresh rain, something that lives in your bones. Running through the streets of Gotham is a regular activity but you find it fun, adrenaline in your blood and city lights guiding the way.
This is not the first time GCPD has found you breaking into a car but they didn’t catch you then and you don’t think they’ll catch you now. The only one really competent at catching anyone committing a crime is Gotham is Batman and Robin but they don’t normally go after kids robbing cars. It’s not exactly hot radar here.
Your chest heaves with every step but you’re having a blast. The burning almost doesn’t bother you with every stride, lungs feeling like they could collapse at any moment. That’s part of the thrill, how far can you run before they catch you or your lungs explode. Well, normally, but tonight the pavement is a little too slick. You go to run around a corner, shoes slipping on the pavement, sending you right into the pavement.
“Shit!” You scream out, feeling the road rash on your arms and your legs, knowing you ripped your clothes from the fall.
“Hands up.” One of the cops says as they catch up, getting out of his car.
You roll your eyes, racking your brain in hopes you can come up with a big bad escape plan. You do not want to go into the system. “Can’t you see I’m little hurt here, asshole?”
“Looks like that’s on you.” His voice is annoyed. “Get up.”
“Again, I’m hurt.” You pout up at him. “I should really have an ambulance. It’s your fault I fell.”
“How do you figure?” The cop questions, making it evident this is not how what he thought he’d be doing tonight.
“You were chasing me.” You shrug a shoulder, looking at your elbow, grimacing at the sight of blood and gravel in your arm. “I wouldn’t have fallen had you just let me go.”
“You committed a crime. You’re not getting off.”
“I’m a minor living in Gotham City who just broke into a single car. Our courts can’t even keep the fucking Joker behind bars, you think I’ll be put away? Please.” You let out a scoff following by a hollowed laugh.
The one thing you have never learned how to do is hold your tongue. It’s always been a little bit of an issue but ever since your mom died, it’s gotten worse. Who do you have to hold your tongue for? You have no one. At least if the cop arrests you, you’ll have a warm bed to sleep in and probably a meal. Not a good one, but beggars can’t be choosers.
“Get up.” The cops sneers, grabbing your arm and yanking you up. “We’ll take you to the hospital to get checked out. Where are your parents?”
“Dad’s somewhere getting high, mom’s in six feet under.” Your voice is nonchalant as you shake your arm free, your knees and arms feeling like they’re vibrating from the pain.
The cop looks down at you with a sigh. Unfortunately, this isn’t an unusual thing for him or any other cop in Gotham to deal with. Kids with parents who are either dead, nonexistent, or not participating in their lives is normal thing here. Far more normal than any other city. You have a smart mouth and you robbed a car but you’re also alone, parentless, and clearly homeless. He doesn’t really want to take you to the station. It’s another kid thrown into the prison system.
“You’re gonna call CPS, right?” You ask from the back of the squad car as the cop drives.
“That is protocol.” He says, glancing to you in the rearview mirror.
“I think that’s a horrible idea.” You scoff, plopping back in your seat, crossing your arms to the best of your ability with the stinging road rash.
“Can’t just let you live on the streets.”
“You could.” You sigh. scrunching your nose.
“Don’t you want a place to live?”
“Yeah, but the system is corrupt. You would know. Why the fuck would I wanna go there? I can take care of myself.”
“You’re in the back of my car and for what? A few bucks?”
“I’ve been doing fine. The pavement’s wet.” You pout. If you had shoes with actual grip, you wouldn’t have fallen.
“Look, I’m sure you’ll be fine, okay?” The cop’s voice is quieter this time, trying his best to be reassuring. “Lots of kids turn out fine.”
You roll your eyes, ignoring him as you watch the city pass by. There’s something in your gut that just knows this is not going to end well for you. Foster care, group homes, it never sounds like it’s going to end well, not for you. Maybe others, sure. Not all foster homes and group homes are bad, but you can feel it in your bones, the shattering of your world consuming you with every passing building. This is going to get really fucking bad.
Tumblr media
1 Year Later 
Your eyes peek open, lids heavy and weighed down as your chest heaves. Your face is in agony with an aching pain your right side. Your head is throbbing as you blink your eyes, swearing it feels like you’ve been hit with a sledgehammer. The pavement is cool beneath you as your eyes move up the walls in front of you, a red and worn-away brick. It’s all moving so slowly for you, almost like a YouTube video lagging at 480p. Slow and staggered, taking in one sense at a time as you come to.
You feel someone beside you, their hand is warm on your arm and he comes into focus from the corner of your eye. Your heart rate spikes, the drowsiness vaporizes and the throbbing of your head suddenly makes everything click. Your eyes widen and you grab his forearm with your hand, a burning and stinging sensation makes him yank his hand away.
“Fuck!” He yells, looking at the growing chemical burn on his arm and back to you as you try to scramble to your feet, legs weak and stinging. “Wait!” He yells at you, trying to get you to stay put, processing what’s going on.
You get to your feet, the man following your lead and standing up, holding his arm across his stomach. Your eyes scan him over and look behind him, trying to ignore the throbbing in your head to come up with a clear plan to escape him. You’re not going back to the basement or to the heinous piece of shit who clearly left you here for dead.
“Who are you?” He asks, his voice is stern, jaw squared while he looks to your hands that outstretched in front of you. Your palms are flowing a florescent green aimed right at him.
You shake your head, matching his stare, teeth grinding. There's a firey anger in your eyes, almost telling him to go ahead and try you. You’re in agony, every muscle feels likes it’s being eaten by fire ants and you’re using every bit of strength to square off with him. But you hold that hard stare not willing to move. The pain will have to take a backseat this time.
“Look,” He lowers his voice trying to ignore the stinging pain of his arm. “I found you here. I was making sure you were okay.”
You scoff. “Sure. You just check on random people passed out in an alley?” You’ve lost a bit faith in humanity recently.
“You burn everyone who tries to help you?” He quips.
Your eyes narrow, not playing the game of getting ‘helped’ again. “Bold of you to assume people help.”
He sighs, dropping his head while his hair falls onto his forehead. “I’m Dick.” He picks up his head, stepping forward just one step and you take one back. “You’re hurt.” He gestures to your side where blood is seeping through the fabric of your shirt.
You look down and see the bright red staining the white fabric. Oh, that’s not good. A sense of queasiness comes over you and that’s when you really start taking in what’s happened. Flashes of the day before haunt your eyes, clouding your view of Dick. You slam your eyes shut which just seems to make the memories worse. The throbbing becomes a catastrophic earthquake in your head, begging to crumble everything in its path. Your hands come to your head, trying to get it to stop as the world around you starts to spin.
Dick takes a few steps forward. “Hey, are you okay?” Dick asks, looking down at you but before you can tell Dick to leave you alone, everything falls black, your legs going limp as you pass out, Dick catching you on the way down. “Alright, then.”
He looks you over, taking notice in the several cuts, bruises, and scars you have on your exposed skin. He has no idea what happened to you but he does know one thing, he’s going to find out and he’s gonna find out how you burned him. Dick’s always had a thing for saving kids so he picks you up and decides to take you to the tower. You were terrified, at least he knows you’ll be safe there.
Back at the tower, the elevator doors open and Dick walks through caring you with broken skin. Gar and Rachel are in the living room, their attention pulled back as they hear him come in.
“Hey, what are--” Gar pauses from his seat on the ottoman while Rachel stands up from her seat, eyes wide and confused as Dick comes into view.
“Who is that? What happened?” Rachel asks, her words fast as she walks over to Dick, Gar right behind her.
“I found her.” Dick states, his voice a bit exasperated. “Gar, can you help me?”
“Uh…sure.” Gar nods, knowing it’s because of Dr. Caulder that Dick’s even asking.
“Rachel, go spar with Jason.” Dick says and Rachel shakes her head but does as she’s told while Dick and Gar head off to the infirmary wing.
Dick places you on a bed while Gar stays behind him. This is weird. He knew Dick had a thing for picking up strays, that’s how him and Rachel ended up with Dick. But, it’s very weird being on the other side of that and actually seeing him bring someone home, especially someone who’s as banged up as you are and unconscious no less. It makes Gar pretty uncomfortable.
Dick directs Gar to grab bandages and the saline solution so they can clean some of the blood cuts that are visible to them. Gar does as directed without saying a single word. He just follows Dick’s lead and helps him clean a few cuts on your arms while Dick cleans a gash on your cheek. Whatever happened to you was bad, that’s something that everyone can see clear as day. But, they don’t know how it happened or why and maybe that’s the scariest part about it. Whatever happened, was bad and what if you’re more than a random person from the streets? Or what if you are and someone is hunting you or something? It’s a terrifying thought.
As they finish up, Gar sees Dick start addressing his own wound. He hadn’t noticed it before but now he can see a red burn on his arm. But, when Gar asked Dick about it, Dick brushed it off a bit by just saying you had done it when you came to for a minute. He didn’t seem to be too concerned about it which made Gar more confused by the whole situation. Not only are you just some girl off the streets but you also have powers and have already burned someone. That sounds a bit dangerous but Gar isn’t one to question authority so he goes with it.
They finish up before leaving you alone. Dick and Gar head to the comms lab where Dick gains access to the security cameras where he found you. He’s mostly showing Gar how to do the same, just in case something happens and Gar ever needs to know. Gar is more of the tech guy in the tower anyway. So, Gar watches closely as Dick brings up the city’s security cameras and they find footage of an older car that looks to be in decent condition pulling into the alley. A bald man with a medium build gets out, looking around to see if anyone is around. He walks to the back of the car and opens the door, pulling you out, looking completely lifeless. He dumps you up against a wall before getting back into his car, pulling out of the alley and driving away as if nothing happened.
Dick shakes his head, his jaw clenching and he just cannot understand how people do that to kids. Being a detective and Robin, he saw it a lot, grown adults beating on kids or getting verbally horrible with them, taking them to drug deals. It’s a mess and he cannot understand why adults do that to kids like it’s normal and it’s okay. There will never come a day where it doesn’t send his blood into a rapid boil.
“Do you think he…did that to her?” Gar asks, looking up to Dick with worry in his eyes.
Dick looks at him, seeing the concern embedded in his face. “I’m not sure.” Dick keeps his voice level, looking back at the screen. “But, by the looks of it, yeah or he knows who did.”
“Why would someone do that?” There’s sadness etched in every word. Gar doesn’t like real violence very much. He doesn’t know why anyone results to it unless it’s a dire situation. Similar to Dick, he just doesn’t understand how someone can do that to another person.
“Maybe we’ll get some answers as to what happened when she wakes up.” Dick nods his head, trying not to worry Gar more. “Why don’t you go join the others? I’ll watch the cameras until she wakes up.” The question was more of a request, rather than an actual offer and Gar knows that.
Gar nods his head and leaves, head swimming with the who, what, when, where, and why of the situation. Maybe you’re dangerous and that’s why it happened. You did burn Dick so you at least, have powers. But, maybe there’s more to it. Maybe you tried to defend yourself and it didn’t end in your favor. Gar knows it’ll be picking at the back of his head until they find out more but for now, there’s nothing he can do but listen to Dick and join Rachel and Jason.
Tumblr media
You finally come to a few hours later. Your eyes open slowly, seeing a wall with a TV mounted to the wall in front of you, similar to a hospital room. But, it’s aesthetically warmer as you look around. The walls aren’t white and the lights aren’t fluorescent. The bed is definitely more comfortable and so is the blanket. For a split second, you almost forgot about your encounter with Dick and think maybe you really could be safe in a hospital but that second fades.
It comes back like a polaroid printing. Slow and fading the images, dulling the colors as it develops. It’s blotchy, the alley and Dick standing in front of you. A part of you isn’t entirely sure you can picture his face. All you know for certain is that he’s tall with brown hair and then you remember burning him, which wasn’t entirely on purpose. But, that’s it, it’s like it all just stop developing like maybe someone moved the camera right as they clicked the capture button. It just gets blurry and blank so you look around a bit more.
You notice gauze bandages wrapped around the cuts on your arms, an IV sticking out of your hand. You touch your face where there’s a bandage covering the large gash you had and you sit in a state of foggy confusion. Who is that guy and did he bring you here? If so, why? What’s his motive? Everyone has a motive and it’s never just to be kind. No one is ever just that nice. And where is here anyway? The room is big but it’s not a hospital, there isn’t anyone walking the hallway from where you can see. There isn’t a window looking into the room on the wall or on the door. It’s like a standard room so it’s not a hospital.
Dick walks into the room as you’re looking around, you only notice him when you look over and the dread fills your bones. It shouldn’t be too shocking given the amount times you’ve been hurt but you didn’t hear him come in and that sucks. Surely, with the laminate flooring and him wearing shoes, you should have been able to hear his footsteps but you didn’t. You can’t remember if his voice was muffled in the alley or if it was clear and that’s a bit unsettling. But, this has happened before and the hearing always comes back in a few days.
“You’re awake.” Dick says as he walks to the foot of your bed, his voice sounding a little muffled. You just stare at him, not wanting to talk until you know what’s going on. “What’s your name?” He asks and you get that look in your eye like you did in the alley, filled of anger and spite, with the slightest touch of terror. You shake your head slowly, standing your ground on not talking. “Alright,” Dick sighs, putting his hands in his front pockets. “Not talking?” Dick asks and you give him the quick raise of your brows, tilting your head slightly to your right.
It’s not that Dick thought this would be easy. He remembers being taken home by Bruce, how new and scary everything was. He had just witnessed his parents die and then some strange billionaire picks him up, decides to adopt him. It was weird and this is weird. It’s a little different and he doesn’t know your story, but he can understand your hesitance in talking.
“Well,” Dick lets out a breath. “Do you remember what happened?” Dick asks. “You don’t have to talk if you don’t want to. Just nod your head. The alley?” Dick clarifies and your eyes narrow but you nod your head twice. “Do you remember how you got there?” Dick asks and he sees your eyes fade as if you’re not with him anymore. The heart monitor starts to steadily go up.
You remember everything, the haunting in your bones running your blood cold. You remember everything in vivid detail. He asks that question and you’re right back where you were, right in that room in that chair, in screaming agony. It’s all there, right in the front of your head and you might not be there now but you swear you never escaped.
“Okay,” Dick gets the hint that you do remember but it’s nothing good. “The tower is safe, fully secured if you’re worried about someone coming to get you.” That brings you back and of course you’re worried about that. But what does he know? “No one here is gonna hurt you.” Dick assures you and he can see the slightest bit of relief come your face. “There’s Gar, he came in and helped me clean up your cuts. They’re pretty bad.” Dick explains, getting no reaction. “Rachel, she’s nice, good kid and then there’s Jason, he’s a bit much sometimes but he’s a good kid, too.” You raise a brow at him, as if to be questioning why there are three other teenagers here. “It’s a long story.” Dick states and you give him a long singular nod. “What’s your name?”
You debate it for a minute. If you tell him, he might be able to find who did it and call him to come get you. But, you look to the badges on your arms and you figure he could also just run a blood test of some sort and figure it out. If this is some type of medical center, that’s something he could do. There is also the slight chance he actually wants to help and maybe telling him your name is just that. Telling him your name.
“Y/n.” Your voice is graveled.
The corner of Dick’s mouth pulls into a small smile. “I’m Dick.” He says and you nod again, remembering that detail. “How’d you burn my arm?” He asks, this time a little sterner and you match him again, shaking your head slowly.
That’s not something you’re going to discuss with some random, run-of-the-mill average person. Having powers and talking to a seemingly powerless person doesn’t seem to end well for the one with powers. So, she keeps her mouth pressed into a hard line.
“You’re not gonna tell me, huh?” Dick asks and he chuckles softly. You sure are stubborn. You shake your head giving him a small but sarcastic grin. “Alright,” Dick nods his head. “How’s food?”
The idea of food is almost nauseating from lack of food recently. The more you think about it the more foods come to your head. Burgers, pizza, pasta, even a bag of chips. All of it is making your mouth water. You are fucking hungry.
You nod slowly.
“I’ll have Gar bring something in for you.” Dick says as he starts walking towards the stand next to your bed. You move slightly to get away from him, your right side aching with the movement. “I’m just grabbing the remote for you.” Dick assures you, keeping his voice level while he opens the drawer and pulls out a black remote. “Here, there are streaming services connected. You can watch whatever.” You narrow your eyes as if expecting it to be a trick of some sort. “It’s just a remote.” Dick tells you and you take it from him slowly, carefully dodging his hands.
You give him a thankful nod as you turn the TV on, a welcome screen lighting up the once black screen. Dick gives you a warm smile before heading for the door, choosing to let you be by yourself for a few minutes. You watch him leave and once he’s out of view, you put your attention to the TV. This whole thing feels weirder by the minute but you’re injured and it hurts to even move. So, you scroll through recommended movies and find one that you remember your mom always saying you should watch together. You never got around to it so you turn it on now, letting the movie help you forget everything that’s happened.
Tumblr media
It's half an hour before someone knocks on the open door to your room. You look over to see a cute boy with green and black hair wearing a black shirt with a red logo at the door. He gives you a wide and cheeky smile, holding a plate of pizza.
"Hey, I'm Gar." He greets you, walking in and to the side of your bed.
You look between his eyes and his hair. Green hair. Interesting choice. "Y/n."
"Here." Gar offers the plate to you gently.
You eye it carefully, not sure if you should really take it. What if it’s been poisoned? For all you know, these people are also crazy. But, you look back to his eyes and they’re so warm and welcoming, his smile kind and hopeful. And you are hungry. So, you take it with reluctance, careful not to brush his hands.
"Dick wanted me to bring it to you." Gar states.
"Thanks." The word is quiet as you rest the plate on your lap.
Gar watches as you seem disinterested. Dick told him you were not too talkative and seemed scared, that’s why he asked Gar to bring it in. Rachel is kind of course but Gar tends to be a little warmer and Jason is an unpredictable smartass. Gar seems like the best shot to find out information and he knows that’s why he’s here. But, he feels a bit bad for it and he kind of just wants you to eat.
"There's, uh, there's different kinds of pizza in the kitchen. If you wanted something else I could--"
"It's okay." You offer him a gentle laugh. His words were rambled as if he were nervous and you think it’s kind of sweet. "Cheese is fine." You pick the slice, Gar sticking his hands into his pants pockets.
He watches her for a few seconds, noticing the marks on your wrists, brows furrowing. The marks look like they're ligature marks. The very middle is a brighter color as if to have been rubbed raw. A sting punches Gar's heart and he moves his eyes to the TV, not wanting to look at any more injuries you might have. He’s seen enough for today.
"Oh, I love this movie!" Gar gushes, watching as the goonies walk through a cave, trying to escape the Fratellis.
You glance over to him, barely turning your head. "Yeah?" You ask before taking a bite of your pizza.
"Have you never seen it?" Gar asks, looking back to you, ready to start rambling about it.
He loves movies, especially classic. Movies and video games, that’s how he killed his time at Caulder House and that’s how he kills a lot his time here when Dick isn’t having them train. He likes the adventures the characters get to go and the ones he gets to partake in for video games. Being hidden away like a dirty secret, it was the only way for him to have some type of adventure and the love of movies and video games grew. He could talk for hours on end about them.
"No?" You chuckle softly, finding the excitement in his voice amusing. "Looks old."
"1985, Steven Spielberg." Gar beams.
"Oh, okay so you know the movie." You chuckle, chewing your lip and it feels so casual with him.
Maybe it's just because he brought you food. Or that he seems the same age as you and he looks non-threatening, especially with the green hair. He also just seems ready to talk about anything which you thinks is a little funny. And he's not asking you any questions about who you are or what you can do. On top of that, he’s not looking at you the way Dick was, with some sort of expectation of something. Maybe that’s just Dick’s face, but it’s like he expected you to just talk and talk about what happened. You don’t want people to expect something from you anymore and Gar doesn’t. He just likes the movie.
"D-did you w-wanna watch it?" You raise the question, eyeing him from the corner of your eye. It’s been awhile since you’ve had contact with other people, let alone someone your own age who just wants to talk about a movie.
"Really? Yeah!" Gar jogs around the bed, going to the chair that's by the windows and pulling it closer to your bed. "Cool." Gar bounces in his seat. There’s a reason he has this poster hanging in his room, he will watch it at any given opportunity.
You laugh at the boy who's a little too excited to watch a movie but it's kind of nice. "I like your hair." You say quietly.
"Oh, uh, thanks." Gar smiles softly at you. "Oh watch this, Data has awesome gadgets." Gar's attention goes back to the screen as you watch Data's shoes up from the back, oil spilling from the heels.
"Well, that's cool." You raise your brows, finding it interesting.
"Right?!" Gar exclaims. “He even has a winch attached to him!” Gar says. “But, that’s later, sorry, don’t wanna spoil it.” Gar looks down for a second and then back to the screen.
“No, that’s really cool.” You nod at him. “I liked the zipline between their houses.” You let out a laugh. “I actually think my mom would have killed me if I tried that but it was sick.”
“Yeah, right? Dick should let us put in a zipline.” Gar looks back at you, the excitement etched across his face.
The two of you sit and watch more of the movie while you finish the pizza. You look to him every so often, subconsciously making sure he isn't planning anything or looks like he might be ready to do something fucked up. It's as if you’re fully prepared for him being nice to turn out to be some type of act but instead, he just keeps his eyes on the screen and points out fun little facts he has about the movie when the scenes come on. It's a little confusing for you. You don't really understand why he'd be in here over a movie unless he was told to. It’s nice, of course, but Dick was a bit persistent which makes you wonder if that’s why Gar came in here in the first place.
Gar looks back at you, catching you look at him. He lets out a sigh, looking back to the movie and the smile falls. "You, uh, you wanna know why I'm here, huh?" He looks back to you.
You scrunch your face. "Kind of." You shrug, watching Gar grow defeated. "I-I don't mind....you in here. I-I just don't...d-don't know why you are." Your eyes are slightly narrowed.
"Dick asked me to see if I could get you to talk." Gar confesses. He’s gotten you to say more than Dick did so he didn’t see a point in hiding it. Maybe honesty will get them a little further.
"Mmm, yeah that tracks from the two minutes I've known him." You roll your eyes.
"Well, uh, in his defense, you did burn him." Gar slows his words down as he looks at you again.
You shrug, looking your hands on the blanket. It's a little bit of shame flowing through your veins. If Dick really was just trying to help and your head told you something different, that's really an issue. You wouldn't want to hurt anyone that was really trying to help you. You’ve just spent so much time in the defensive mode it's like your mind forgot what it's like to shut it off for a minute.
"How'd you do it?" Gar asks carefully.
"Mm, nice try." You shake your head at him, appreciating the effort but it’s still a no for you.
Gar shrugs, looking back to the TV. Having powers can be dangerous and Gar knows that so maybe you knowing you’re not alone will help. "I can turn into a tiger. If you're worried about sounding like you're a freak or--"
"Sorry, did you say...tiger?" You question, your voice nearly yelling.
"Yeah." Gar laughs. "I guess, it's uh, kind weird." He hangs his head a bit.
"What? That's fucking awesome. How do you do it?" Your words all slur together as you sit up, crossing your legs and leaning forward.
Gar laughs as he watches as you get excited. The only one who's ever seemed interested in it, kind of like this is Rachel. It's making Gar feel incredible and powerful. "I don't know. This doctor cured me from a mysterious disease. This was one of the side effects." Gar gestures to his head. "Turning into a green tiger."
"That's the coolest thing I have ever fucking heard in my life. Can I see?" You forget every ounce of suspicion you should have in this unfamiliar place but how many times do you run into someone who can turn into a tiger? Batman has cool gadgets and a cool car and Superman can fly but neither of them can turn into an animal. Turning into an animal is basically the coolest thing in the entire world.
"Maybe...." Gar pauses, a grin tugging at his lips. He's not so sure Dick would be happy if he decided to transform just because you asked. "So, what about you?"
You sigh and if he's gonna tell you, maybe you can tell him something. Turning into a tiger is still a power. "I can produce acid with my hands." You flip your palms up, gesturing toward Gar but not too close. Your palms glow a fluorescent green. "I can control how much and how strong it is." The green fades as you put your hand back down in your lap.
"That's awesome." Gar's brows knit together. "Have you been like that your whole life?"
You shakes your head, the mood shifting in the room. "No, something new. But, uh, we're not gonna talk about that."
"Okay." Gar gives you a side smile, accepting that he got an answer.
He doesn't really like to push people for answers anyway. He knows the only reason Dick as him to come here is because Gar is the most likely get something out you. Jason is....an asshole and would likely call you a freak. Rachel doesn't really have a lot of control with her powers so if something happened, that probably wouldn't end well. Gar was really Dick's best option in trying to get any answer of you and Gar does want to help. He helps people. He'd say it's one of his better qualities.
You let out a sigh, watching Gar get back into the movie. "I'm-I'm gonna have to like...talk to him, aren't I?"
Gar looks back at you, pursing his lips with a shrug. "Yeah, but hey, he's really not a bad guy. He can help. He won’t force you to talk, but it’s not a bad idea."
You scoff, seeing flashes of the last night you spent on the streets of Gotham. "Yeah, you know the last person who told me that...." You pause, seeing Gar's eyes soften. "Well, I ended up here." You gesture a hand over your face, knowing it can't look pretty by the sense of the throbbing. "So."
"I'm sorry." Gar says softly. "For whatever you went through."
"Thanks." You say quietly. "Is there anyway I can....borrow a hoodie or something? It's...cold." You pause and you’ve always been good at deflecting.
He nods. "Uh, yeah, yeah. I can grab you one." He stands up quickly, moving to the doorway. "I'll be right back." He smiles sweetly at you before leaving, jogging down the hallway.
Gar jogs to his room, rummaging through his clothes, looking for an oversized hoodie. He could have asked Rachel because he knows Rachel has to have something, too but he almost worries that Rachel will go bring it herself. It's obvious you don't really want to talk to anyone and Dick asked him to do it. He wasn't even supposed to actually leave you alone until Dick told him to. He's never been very good at staying put when he's told to. Call it a flaw. So, he goes through his clothes quickly and finds a gray zip-up hoodie.
"Gotcha." Gar says triumphantly before quickly turning around.
"What are you doing?" Dick asks with exasperation, arms crossed as he stands in the doorway.
Gar's eyes widen. "Uh, hey, Dick. I was just grabbing Y/n a hoodie. She asked."
"Didn't I tell you not to leave her alone?" Dick questions but his tone isn’t mad or upset and Gar nods. "It's alright." Dick shakes his head and offers Gar a gentle smile. "Just trying to help?"
"Yeah." Gar nods slowly. “I feel bad for her.”
"I'll bring it to her." Dick holds out a hand and Gar hands over the hoodie. "Did you find anything out?"
"She can produce acid from her hands. They turn green so I guess it can be obvious." Gar explains, feeling a little bad about it since you obviously don't want him to know but Gar isn't going to lie to Dick. "That's really it, though."
"Good work. Thank you." Dick says with a closed, half smile.
"You're welcome." Gar says, not exactly pleased about it.
Dick leaves Gar in his room, heading back to you. While Gar was talking with you, Dick came up with a plan. He has to find out what's going on. So, he's just going to try and make friends with you. Surely, you seeing that Gar is just another kid and is happy and healthy should help. He'll try to level with you. Not push you or badger you, just level.
You catch a glimpse of Dick coming through the doorframe caring a grey hoodie and you just shake your head. You aren't sure what you expected. Is it too much to ask that you just doesn't want to do talk to this Dick guy?
"Gar was bringing this to you. I stopped him." Dick says, offering the hoodie to you as you narrow your eyes at him.
Everyone always has an ulterior motive. You’re trying to figure out what his could possibly be. Taking in kids who need help? Who have powers? If that's what he's doing, is he building a team of teenage weapons? Is he powered, too? Does he not think it's a little bit weird? But you’re cold and take the hoodie from him.
"Acid, huh?" Dick asks, walking to the front of your bed, your eyes following him still narrowed. "How much control do you have?" Dick asks.
Your brows raise, looking side to side. What a weird fucking question. "Uh...I-I don't...I don't know. A lot, I guess?" You pause, watching him carefully. "Why?"
"I'm just wondering. If you're going to stay here, it's best for me to know." Dick explains and he's so calm despite the fact you burned him.
Stay? You don't know these people, why would you stay? Is that something that people do? Just stay with complete strangers in hopes they aren't serial killers or something? What if they're all a group of serial killers?
"Why would I stay?" You challenge.
Dick shrugs. "Do you have anywhere to go?"
You chew the inside of your cheek, pulling the sleeves of the hoodie over your hands. "No." Your voice is broken, as you dodge looking at Dick.
That's a fair point. You don't have anywhere to go. The only place you’ve ever known is Gotham and that basement. That's it. You don't know anyone in the city or have a phone to call anyone back in Gotham, not that you want to really. At least in Gotham, living on the streets wasn't easy but it was familiar. You knew the cars to break into, the stores to rob and get away with it. You knew where all the cameras were and the GCPD shift schedule. But, this is San Francisco and you are clueless.
"I know it seems..." Dick pauses for a second as he leans against the wall behind him. "Scary maybe?" He pauses again, you looking up to him. "But, really, I just wanna help."
You think about it for a few seconds. This is the most comfortable you’ve been in a year. You’re on high alert and you don't think your brain will ever rest but you’re warm, in a bed, watching a movie. You had pizza. You can't remember the last time you had pizza. And you got all this by not robbing anyone or squatting. Maybe a night or two couldn't hurt.
"O-okay." You say quietly.
"Yeah?" Dick offers a side smile, surprised you said okay. "Did you want to stay here?"
"Um...if that's...okay." Your words are soft and unsure. "As long as you're not gonna like....kill me, I guess."
Dick chuckles softly, looking to the floor and back to you. "We're not gonna kill you."
"Well, that's great then." You shrug, tugging at the sleeves again. "Um...what about the others? Do they have powers?" You ask before continuing. "Gar said he can turn into a Tiger so...."
"Yeah, he can." Dick confirms it and catches the smile wanting to split your face. "Rachel, she has powers. We're still trying to figure them out. Then there's Jason, don't mind him." Dick warns with a grin. "You'll get used to him but he doesn't have powers. He's pretty good at combat, though."
You nod, as if to be accepting what he's saying. "So, you just...pluck kids off the street or?"
"For someone who doesn't answer a lot of questions, you sure have a lot of them." Dick offers a light-hearted chuckle.
You tilt your head with a shrug. "I-I, uh, haven't, uh." You furrow your brows. "Haven't had much contact with anyone really. In a while." You suck in a breath. “I am also just an inquisitive person.”
Dick nods. "Rachel found me, actually. She needed help, I didn't want to help but..." He pauses thinking back to the whole mess that unfolded. "I couldn't just leave her on her own."
"Now you want to help?"
Dick nods once more. "Yeah, she doesn't have anyone else. I lost my parents so I get it. I didn't have anyone either until someone decided to reach out."
You nod slowly, grasping it now. It's like a passing of the kindness kind of thing. Someone helped him as a kid, showed him some of the greatest kindness so now he's out here doing the same. Assuming what he's saying is all true, that is.
"What about Gar and Jason?"
"Gar was with Rachel, we got separate and he helped her. Wanted to come with and he didn't have a place that he felt like he belonged. Jason....well, he needs more guidance. He's not really allowed to go back to being who he was yet. I took him in."
Your eyes narrow with suspension again. "Is he like a bad person or something?" The way he talks about Jason compared to the others is a little weird. He speaks highly of Rachel and Gar but seems to have a harder time doing that with Jason. There is some sort of history there that you are very intrigued about.
"No," Dick answers quickly with a shake of his head. "He's just a little reckless."
"Ahh." You say quietly, knowing that being reckless tends to be a little fun but also understanding the consequences. If it weren't for recklessness, you'd still be in Gotham. "So, what now then?"
"I can show you around, show you to a room that'll be yours if you’re feeling up for it."
"I'll have a room?" You ask with a scoff. "How fucking big is this place?"
Dick laughs. "It's pretty big."
"Sweet." You sit up fully, crossing your legs. "Then what?"
"Do you have other powers?" Dick asks, feeling like maybe he'll get an answer.
The other one isn’t a big deal, really. It doesn’t hurt anyone and will maybe just protect you. To you, right now, it doesn’t seem like not telling him is really going to be much benefit to you anyway but you also doesn’t know exactly how to explain it.
“Uh...” Your brows furrow as you search for words. “If...someone tries to....hit me or attack me,” You start. “I get this intense throbbing in the back of my head and I just....know where they’ll come from.” You explain.
“Combat clairvoyance, how long have you had that?” Dick asks, finding it interesting.
You shrug your shoulders. “It’s a new thing, like the acid.”
“Okay,” Dick nods his head. “Anything else?”
“Not that I’m aware of.” You answer honestly. Maybe you have more, maybe not. You’re hoping with everything in you that you don’t have some hidden power, one is more than enough for you and you’re stuck with two.
"Okay then." He seems satisfied with answers, choosing not to push to find out how you got your powers for right now. "Want the tour or did you want to rest some more?"
"Tour." You say without even thinking about it. You’ve been in the same room for months and you’re tired of being locked in one room. You want to see everything.
"Alright." Dick chuckles. He walks to the side of your bed and offers you an arm to help you.
"I'm fine." You shrug him off, pulling the blanket off of you, revealing your black leggings that have holes at one of the knees and one on the other shin. "Are there like....clothes I can borrow?" You ask as you get out of the bed carefully, your legs feeling a bit weak as you stand.
"I’m sure we’ll find something. Hoodie is Gar's though." Dick explains.
"Cool." You flash him a smile. "He's cool."
"Yeah, he's a good kid." Dick smiles back at you as the two of you exit the room.
Dick leads you down the hallway and decides to start with the kitchen and living area. It's right in the middle of the tower and figured that might be a good place to start. You take in the open-concept rooms. You’re relieved it's not all white. You remember watching HGTV back in Gotham and everything was always white. It's like these grown adults had a problem with color. Who would want to live in a place that looks like a hospital? But this tower isn't like that. It has a dark color palette. The floors, the walls, all dark but big floor-to-ceiling windows line the back wall of the two rooms giving the place plenty of light. A large fireplace sits in the center of the living room, not against a wall. You like it a lot more than you would ever openly admit.
"Kitchen, living room." Dick gestures a hand out, letting you walk in front of him to look at the rooms.
"It's nice." You say, looking back at Dick. "You an interior designer or something?" You quip, looking to the windows, seeing the city.
Dick just looks at you, looking unamused before a smile cracks across his face. "No," He scoffs. "I didn't decorate the place."
"Mmm, a shame. It would give you at least a point in my book." You look back to him and give a sarcastic grin.
"You're keeping a point system?" Dick’s brows riase, unsure if you’re joking or not.
"You don't?" You scoff with a chuckle.
It was a sarcastic comment but you’re not gonna let that go. You'd keep the bit going for as long as you know Dick now. He's stuck with a point system.
"What's next?" You ask.
"Follow me." Dick walks past you, leading you down a dark hallway.
You follow closely, looking at the rooms you pass which all have doors closed. The spacing of the doors indicated they're all large rooms. You couldn't tell what the housing market is like, something you never could even in Gotham but you'd have to bet this is at least a million-dollar house, apartment? Whatever it should be called. It's so fucking big.
You’re pulled from your thoughts as you reach what seems to be a training room, a boy with black hair hitting a punching bag off to the side. You take in the area and are actually seriously questioning if Dick is turning kids into weapons. What would the point be to have a room like this if not? And there is already a kid working out so it’s being used. Maybe it’ll be beneficial to you. Learn a few things and escape when the time is right.
"This is the training room. When you're able, you can train here with everyone else."  Dick explains, putting his hands in his pockets as you stand at the open sliding doors.
The boy turns around hearing Dick talk. He looks at you with bruises and cuts across your face. He grimaces at the sight of you. Gar told him Dick brought you home but he didn’t think it was that bad.
"What the fuck happened to your face?" He asks with a scoff.
"What the fuck happened to yours?" You strike back, Dick doing a double take with the fire in your words.
"My face is fucking perfect, fuck you." Jason sneers, he was just asking a simple question. He didn't expect for you to have a comment back.
"Yeah, who the fuck says? Fuck you." You sneer back at him.
The immediate question of your face just caught you off guard. It seemed a bit rude, the way he asked and you’re not gonna let him talk to you like that. But, by the way his nostrils flare, you can tell that challenging him will be fun.
Dick watches the two of you, not even sure exactly what he expected from Jason but this should have been it.
"Hey," Dick shakes his head.
"She started it." Jason pouts his glove-covered hand at you.
"You asked what happened to my face!" You defend. “And my name is y/n.”
"Because you look like someone fucked you up. Maybe get in here and spar a bit, it'll save your face next time if you’re that offended." Jason snips.
"Jason, right?" You look to Dick and Dick nods.
"Heard about me, huh?" Jason gains a cocky grin as he walks closer to you.
"That tracks." You nod with the roll of your eyes. If he’s like this all the time, you get why Gar and Dick have both said you’d get used to him. But, what they don’t know is that people like Jason are always really fun to fuck with.
"What?" Jason asks, the smile still wide, almost expecting everyone to talk highly of him.
"Just heard you're really good at combat." You smile at him, playing into his ego and deciding to have a little bit of fun with him.
"Yeah, maybe I can show you a thing or two." Jason looks you up and down.
"I can show you." You do the same, mimicking his actions.
Dick stands there a bit in shock as to what is happening right now. You blatantly refused to talk to him and warmed up a bit to Gar. But, had he known introducing you to Jason would get you talking, he might have just done that first. What is even going on? And why are you humoring him? 
"Can we not--" Dick starts but Jason cuts him off.
"Look, babe, it looks like you're the one who needs help." Jason offers and you can't tell if this is him being nice or if he's trying to get laid or what but whatever the fuck it is, it is not working. But, either way, you know this is going to be fun.
"Okay, I'll bet you, you can't fucking touch me." You challenge him while Dick snaps his attention to you. Did you suddenly forget you were injured?
"You need more rest. Let's continue--"
"What's the bet?" Jason plays along.
You smirk at him, looking him up and down again. "Mmm, I don't know. If you can't land a single hit in thirty seconds, you owe me whatever I decide. If you win...."
Dick is standing there, asking the universe "Why him?" what did he do for this? He was just trying to help and now he's here with two of the same people. Of all people you had to be like, it had to be Jason. Can't be another Gar or Rachel. No, you have to be like Jason because Dick can never catch a break.
"I'll let you let off this time." Jason offers, catching Dick by surprise.
"Deal." You stick out your hand, Jason catching a glimpse of the mark on your wrists, pausing. "Don't make it fucking weird."
"Deal." Jason widens his eyes before sticking a hand out.
“Be careful.” Dick warns them.
Normally, Dick would step in and stop this. You’re injured and shouldn’t be doing anything really but he is pretty interested to see the combat clairvoyance in action. Jason is reckless and hot headed but he’s not violent and Dick doesn’t believe Jason will go full out. So, Dick doesn’t stop you as you walk to the middle of the floor, straight face.
"Come on, babe, let's see what you got." You mock Jason and Jason wastes no time in moving towards you.
Jason takes a swing, you dodging him making him miss, ignoring the pain your side. Your ability to mess with someone like Jason should also be a superpower. You will do everything in your power to not let any of your injuries interfere with this. Jason stutters for a second before trying again, missing. You give him a side smirk with the raise of your brows, taunting him. Jason huffs before putting more power into it, going faster this time and you put your arm up just in time to block him.
"What the fuck?" Jason mutters, throwing punches and trying to kick you while you keep dodging and blocking him.
It's fun for you and you know nothing about combat but you remember seeing videos of Batman and Robin fighting. He reminds you of them, the way he fights. If those two are any indication, he really must be good at it. But, this is also unfair to him and you think it's funny. You like how he's growing more and more frustrated, nostrils flaring with every miss. Jason takes another swing, right for the center of your face, you catch his fist, less than an inch from your nose.
You look past his fist, not letting him go, deciding to mess with him a little more. "You're kind of cute, ya know?" Jason narrows his eyes but his arm doesn't relax. He knows the tactic and he’d be lying if he didn’t find it a bit amusing that you tried it. "Nothing?" You raise a brow.
"Nice try." Jason yanks his fist away, going to the floor to trip you but you’re just quick enough for him to miss.
"Okay, that's enough." Dick walks to the middle with you, tired of watching and if this goes on any longer, he knows he'll be hearing from Jason about it. It's never something he wants to deal with.
“I won, thanks for that.” You beam at Jason. “Needed it.”
“You're just not playing fucking fair." Jason yells behind Dick.
"So, you thought it was fair to try hitting me, someone who has no combat experience and is injured but it's not fair for me to not tell you that I can avoid being hit?" You question and watch Jason become flustered.
"You started it." Jason groans and you can't help but find it funny.
You completely understands why Dick and Gar weren't very vocal about Jason. You get it now. He's definitely something else. Most people would probably find him annoying and an asshole, which he is, but you find it amusing more than anything. Plus, he looks like he carries damage. Something about the way he moves, the lost and distant look in his eyes. It's interesting.
"Yeah," You grin with a shrug. "And what are you gonna do about it?" You taunt, a wide, challenging smile on display.
Jason's brows furrow as he jerks his head back. He's never had anyone challenge him like this before and he's not a fan of it. He takes the same shit he dishes out but it is kind of fun going back and forth about it. But he really doesn't get it. No one comes out of the gate swinging like that.
"We're gonna continue the tour if that's okay with the two of you." Dick looks between you, his voice more a statement rather than an actual question.
"Okay." You offer him an apologetic smile.
"Yeah, I got shit to do." Jason mumbles, walking back to where he was when you first walked in, eyes trailing on you a little longer than he really wanted.
You smirk to yourself, watching Jason walk back to the punching bag. It's weird because he's kind of an asshole but something about him feels like home. Maybe it's because he isn't tip-toeing around you or offering you some weird type of kindness that makes your skin crawl. He doesn't look sympathetic and look at you with pity. Not after you talked away. Dick and Gar do though, it makes you shift and you hate the uneasiness about it.
You follow Dick back down another hallway decorated with lights and a few memorabilia-type things. It gives you the impression this isn't some new superhero thing, despite the younger ages of the other kids. It looks like this place was lived in for awhile, haunted by previous heroes.
"This is your room." Dick opens a black door, sitting in between two other rooms and showing you inside.
It's plain and simple. A TV sits on an entertainment center against the left-hand wall. Large windows line the first half of the room and a bed sits against the right wall. It's as if the room is literally divided into two parts, a living area and a sleeping area. Two small backless shelving units divide the two areas. A dresser is next to the left-hand side of the door, a turntable and a lamp sitting on top. They're empty and so is a bookshelf next to the left side of the bed. It's so empty.
"We can go tomorrow to get you some clothes and a few things if you want." Dick offers as you walk into the room fully taking it in.
"Uh..." You stutter, turning around to face him. "I-I don't have...money?"
Dick smiles gently. "It's okay. I got it."
Your eyes narrow at him and you cannot figure out why he would do this. "Okay...why? Like why are you doing this? Everyone has a motive so what's yours?"
Dick shrugs a shoulder, putting his hands in his pockets. "The people here are special and so are you. It's hard being out there and being special."
"So what makes you special then?"
"Same as Jason."
"Ahh." You nods your head once. Interesting. "What if I don't wanna fight?" You ask.
Dick shakes his head. "You don't have to, you just have to learn to control your powers. It's up to you if want to learn more. But you'll be safe here."
You feel like this is some type of dream about to turn into a nightmare. You’ve had a dream before where someone comes to rescue you from the dreadful and dreary basement but then they turn. They find out about your powers or they're just as fucked up as her foster dad and they just use you. An endless string of torture. This doesn't feel like that, not really, because this isn't a dream. You’re wide awake but it's hard to believe.
"Okay." You say, turning back around and walking to the TV.
"You can stream from it if you want, it's connected to the Wi-Fi already with the accounts, like the TV in the other room." Dick explains.
You look back to him. "Cool." Your voice is quiet and you always just liked to watch TV and movies.
It wasn't a coping mechanism or some type of escape from the hell for Gotham. Some people find fun in sports or art or social media, your thing was TV. You just found it fun to see the stories play out in front of your eyes, not reading, just watching. A part of you think it might sound dumb if you said TV was one of the things you missed the most.
"Well," Dick sighs. "I'll leave you be then. If you need anything, I'll be around and so will everyone else. Gar is to the right and Jason left, Rachel is across the hall." Dick explains.
You nod, still just looking around unsure how to even feel about being here. Is there a way you can plan an escape if shit hits the fan? Always have some type of escape plan. Anything can happen and you won't be captured again and held captive. But, Dick is really nice and there's a part of you that is certain if he were kidnapping kids and holding them here against their will, he would have let Jason go a long time ago.
"Uh....t-t-thank you." You stutter catching Dick right before he leaves the room. "For saving me."
"Don't mention it." Dick smiles at you, feeling good about the decision to help you. "Just don't burn me again."
"Yeah..." You scrunch your face. "Sorry."
"It's alright, get some rest." Dick says kindly before leaving you to yourself, shutting the door behind him.
Meanwhile, in the training room, Gar and Rachel have joined Jason. Rachel, thus far, is the only one who hasn't met you and she's curious. And if Dick is gonna bring another person so soon, all three of them feel like they need to talk about it. They should get a say if someone gets to join their little found family.
"What is she like?" Rachel asks.
"She's nice, seems scared though." Gar shrugs while Jason scoffs.
"She's a bitch." Jason walks over to the two of them. "And she's a freak."
Rachel rolls her eyes. "You think everyone is a freak." Jason has also called her a freak on more than one occasion.
"She was nice to me." Gar shrugs, casually knowing it's not exactly easy to be nice to Jason even on a good day.
He's his best friend, of course, but he's not easy to get along with. It's kind of up to Jason and what kind of day he's had. Gar, on the other hand, is the easiest one in the tower to get along with. He's just nice to everyone even if they aren't nice to him.
"Did she tell you how and why she burned Dick?" Rachel asks, ignoring Jason as he takes a seat beside Gar.
"She can produce acid with her hands." Gar states, ignoring the groan leaving Jason. "She didn't say why."
"Maybe that's why Dick brought her, to help control her powers." Rachel offers.
"Maybe." Gar tilts his head with the raise of his brows, not really thinking that's what it is. "I think he just has a thing for picking up strays."
"I wasn't a stray." Jason scoffs in his own defense, the idea of Bruce sending him here still sour in his mouth.
Rachel glares at him, unamused while Gar just shakes his head and ignores him. "You could talk to her." Gar says. "She's only talked to us, maybe a girl will make her feel better about being here."
"Yeah," Rachel laughs softly. "There's too much testosterone here." Rachel looks to Jason. "Is that okay with you?" She asks mockingly, not actually asking for his opinion.
Jason shrugs, seemingly to have not gotten the sarcastic tone. "She is hot, ya know, besides the cuts and shit so yeah. Need something pretty to look at it."
"Gross." Gar grimaces.
"You're such a fuckboy." Rachel shakes her head, looking back to Gar.
"Hey, fuck you." Jason retorts. "All you do is stare at Gar, I want someone to look at."
"I do not!" Rachel fires back, cheeks tinting red.
Gar watches the two of them, shifting in his seat having never noticed if she did stare at him or not. He's hoping she knows they're just friends. He is not very good at letting people down softly, mostly because he trips over his words and makes everything worse by trying to spare their feelings.
"Right." Jason scoffs, getting back to his feet. "You're with me, right?" Jason looks to Gar. "About y/n?"
"Uh..." Gar tilts his head, forehead wrinkling not even wanting to get into this.
He thinks it's a little insensitive. Of course, it's exactly what he expects from Jason but he's not gonna get dragged into it. You just got here and you’re very clearly traumatized. He's not looking at you in any type of way besides with sympathy and empathy. Though he does think you’re pretty, even with the cuts and bruises Jason wants to so rudely dismiss but Gar won't say it. It's not his place or the time. Surely, they can let you settle in and let you just do your own thing. They don't need to be talking about you.
Jason shakes his head. "We gotta find out more about her though, right? Like who the fuck is she?"
"Does it matter?" Rachel counters.
"Yeah, man, I don't think it's up to us." Gar adds in.
Jason puts his weight to one leg. "What if she's like...here to kill us or some shit? Shouldn't we know?"
"Pretty sure Dick would have looked into that already." Gar states, eyes slightly narrowed at him.
Jason is paranoid and dramatic and over-enthusiastic about being a hero. Gar thinks it's the coolest thing that's ever happened to him, becoming a Titan. There are so few people who get to say they're a Titan and Gar is one of them. He's so excited to get out there and fight these big bad guys but not until Dick says they're ready. Jason, on the other hand, has the experience and doesn't think he even needs to be here. Gar can tell Jason is just hoping you will be part of a big bad plot.
"Did he tell you that?" Jason counters.
"He doesn't need to, Jason." Rachel grows more annoyed with Jason with every passing second.
"Come on, you wanna know, right? How she got her powers? Ended up here? Think it's some coincidence or some shit with Dick finding her?" Jason argues, looking directly at Gar knowing Gar won't be able to resist. "We can find out."
"Gar." Rachel says.
It's the way she said his name that he knows it's threatening but...Jason has a point. If Dick and you don't find out, no one else will know. He doesn't think Rachel will rat them out or anything. Jason is always just very persistent and he'll probably do it himself, if Gar is there and he gets caught, maybe Dick will go easier on him and they won't have to listen to it.
Gar sighs. "Fine but just to sure."
"Unbelievable." Rachel stands up. "You two are terrible. We shouldn't pry into someone else's privacy."
"What if there is someone though? Jason kind of has a point." Gar counters, still sitting on the ground. “I mean, you were being chased by people who wanted to kill you. Maybe it’s better if we find out just to be safe.”
"You don't have to come." Jason shrugs a shoulder, looking at Rachel.
"I wasn't going to. You two do whatever you want." She waves her hands in annoyance before heading to leave the training room. "I'm going to be normal and just talk to her." Rachel leaves the boys to themselves, knowing they won't be far behind to go to the computer.
Gar and Jason stay in the training room a little longer before making their way to the infirmary. They saw the cuts and Gar helped Dick clean them up so Gar knows they can get blood from the garbage to run your DNA. It's definitely an invasion of privacy that doesn't quite sit well with him but what if Jason is right? He's paranoid, sure, but what if Dick didn't look into you? What are they supposed to do? It can't hurt. Dick sometimes seems too trusting, he didn't really ask Gar any questions before letting him join the little group. If Dick is just waiting for you to start talking and you’re a part of something bigger, that would be very not good for any of them. That's the reasons he lists as to why this isn't some horrible thing they're doing.
"Y/n Y/l/n." Jason crosses his arms as they see your picture show up on the screen.
"Born in Gotham City." Gar says, sitting at the computer, matching the stare on the large screen before looking at Jason, then back to the screen. "Uh...let's see. Her mom was killed...by the Joker." Gar's voice grows sad and quiet, looking over to Jason knowing his dad was killed by Two-Face.
"Shit." Jason huffs, a sense of what one might describe as guilt comes over him knowing what it's like.
"Dad has a rap sheet for drugs." Gar looks back to Jason and then back to the computer, growing more uncomfortable with the similarities of the two of you. "She was arrested for breaking into cars, put into foster care. That's all there is." Gar reads it off before looking back to Jason.
Jason squints his eyes at the screen, knowing how close he was to being you and something in the pit of his stomach feels horrible for how he treated you. It makes him feel uneasy, knowing he could have been you had he just robbed the wrong car of the hubcaps, had you robbed the right one. It’s a reality check.
"Look up the guy." Jason says, hiding the uneasiness in his voice.
"Jerry Johnson, what a name." Gar mocks. "Uh....former scientist from Gotham."
Gar lets the words sit in his mouth. The thing about Gotham is that it really does breed special kind of people. The fucked up kind of special. Mr. Freeze, Scarecrow, Penguin, the Joker, the Riddler, what is happening in that city? It doesn't take much for Gar to figure that your powers didn't come from anything accidental, that you were some type of test subject your foster dad used. That explains a lot, your attitude toward Dick. The defensiveness. Gar wonders how he came out the other end not like that. He wasn't really an experiment but...it was some crazy scientists who thought Gar changing into a tiger was better than dying. It is but it's not always easy and he's not always a fan of it. It's hard to imagine how you might feel.
"Fuck, dude." Jason huffs, looking down to Gar. "Think that guy did that to her?"
Gar shrugs, not wanting to think of someone being victimized like that. Beat, tortured, chained up. It makes his stomach twist. "Maybe." Gar clears his throat. "We should...get out of here." He looks away from the computer.
"Yeah," Jason says quietly while Gar exits out of everything.
"It doesn't seem like she's the bad guy." Gar's voice is defeated and maybe a part of him was hoping you would be. It would give them something to do but this just got really sad, really fast.
"Guess not." Jason mutters and Gar can't tell if he's disappointed or just lost in his thought about it.
"You okay, dude?"
"Yeah." Jason gives him a grin. "Just fucked up."
Gar curls his lips in with a nod. "Yeah."
While the boys sit and figure out how they're supposed to handle this newfound information without letting you or Dick know how they found out, Rachel went to your room.
You’re in your room, sitting on the couch, wrapped in a blanket and watching Zombieland. The movie's been out for a while but you’re so in love with it. There's zombies who don't just walk and eat people. They actually have speed and the characters aren't dumb. There are rules to surviving any type of horror movie and this guy in the movie just gets it. It's by far one of your favorite comfort movies. And you’re having a great time, just relaxing for the first time in a year. It's like you can almost breathe clearly again, wrapped in a blanket on a couch and in a warm home. But, then a knock sounds on your door and you’re reminded that you’re not alone.
You get up, taking the blanket with you. "Uh....hey?" You ask, seeing the girl with purple hair, dressed head to toe in black with a weird red gem in the center of her forehead.
"Hey," Rachel smiles softly. "I'm Rachel."
"Y/n." You offer, hand still on the door.
"I just wanted to come and meet you. I know you met everyone else." Rachel explains nicely.
You nod and you almost feel like an animal at a zoo but that's not Rachel's fault. It's like when someone new comes to school halfway through the school year and suddenly everyone wants to talk to them. They're like a new toy.
"Yeah, uh, yeah." You nod, sliding your hand off the door. "Did....you wanna come in?" You ask, not sure if you should or not. It all feels so bizarre.
"Sure." Rachel smiles softly, walking inside while you shut the door. "How do you like your room?" Rachel looks around at the empty place, wondering how you would decorate it.
"It's okay." You answer with a shrug. "Kind of boring, I guess."
"Dick will get you stuff to make it yours." Rachel explains.
"Right." You nod slowly before going back to your spot on the couch.
You don't have much else to say. You’re not actively trying to be standoffish. Rachel is just being nice but you don't even know how you’re supposed to talk to people and you’re truthfully tired and want to enjoy your movie. You just didn't want to sound like a bitch and tell Rachel to leave.
"What do you think about the guys?" Rachel asks, sitting on the opposite end of the couch, not getting too close to you which you really appreciate. Rachel figures talking about the guys might be an easy way to get you to warm up to her.
"Uh..." You furrows your brows and a smile creeps onto your face. "Gar's really nice." You say quietly. "Dick is okay, I guess. Jason's an asshole."
Rachel lets out a laugh. "I know! It's been just us for a month." Rachel leans her head back dramatically making you laugh. "You'll get used to him. Gar and Dick make it easier."
You shake your head. "I don't mind, actually." You huff with a smile, earning yourself a surprised and confused look from Rachel. You shrug. "He's funny to fuck with. He gets all mad and I think it's funny."
"What'd you do?" Rachel asks, intrigued why someone would find it funny but also kind of wants to see someone actually get under Jason's skin and not be bothered by whatever ignorant comment he'll say.
"I asked him what was wrong with his face when he asked about mine then I challenged him to a bet. He lost." You hold your up proudly.
"What was the bet? Teach me. He bugs me." Rachel says dramatically, her eyes wide.
"I can do this thing," This time when you explain it, your head is held with pride and confidence. "I can sense when someone is gonna attack me, told him he could hit me and he couldn't."
"That's awesome! Can I be there next time, please?" Rachel pleads.
Rachel and Jason haven’t gotten along since her dad possessed him. They got along fine when they met in Chicago but then things got a little rocky. Rachel actually doesn’t like not getting along with him, especially living under the same roof, but she can’t pinpoint exactly what it was that made him not like her. She’s tried to be nice but it never really gets her anywhere with him. So, seeing someone put Jason in his place sounds like a good time.
"Sure. I don't think Dick thought it was very funny." You let out a soft chuckle, warming up to Rachel. She is very nice.
"Gar will think it's hilarious. They spar together more than us and Gar puts up a good fight but Jason always wins." Rachel rolls her eyes.
"Gar doesn't seem like a fighter."
Rachel shrugs a shoulder. "He's not."
"Probably a good thing, he's cute." You blurt it out, shocked you actually said that out loud. "I have said too much."
"No, it's okay. He is." Rachel laughs softly.
"Oh, I'm sorry!" You backtrack. "Are you a thing?"
"No!" Rachel exclaims. "No, we're just friends. No one here is like a thing or anything."
"Oh, okay. That's a bit surprising. Though, I guess you wouldn't be into Jason." You joke.
"God, no." Rachel grimaces with the thought. "I'd rather die." Rachel says making you laugh. "Is that Gar's?" Rachel points towards the hoodie.
"Uh...yeah. He loaned to me. I asked for a hoodie because it's a little cold in here."
"That's really nice of him." Rachel offers a soft side smile.
"Yeah..." You tug the sleeves over your hands.
"Can I ask what happened to you?" Rachel asks carefully.
You shift in your seat. You’d love to go as long as humanly possible without saying anything about it. It's just traumatic. It's not even like it's a secret. It's just hard to talk about and you don't know these people at all. It feels like something more personal than to just go around and blasting it to complete strangers. If Dick makes you say something, you will but until then, you'd like to just tell them on your own time. Not when you’re asked.
"Uh...it's....a-a long story." You look to the TV and Rachel can see that a part of you just shut down with the question. It's obvious that it's bad but Rachel didn't think it would cause a distant reaction.
"I'm sorry. You don't have to tell me or anything but if you want to talk about it, you can talk to me." Rachel's voice is quiet.
"T-thank you." You glance at her from the corner of your eye. "Uh...it's okay. I, uh, I just don't wanna talk about it yet." You shake your head.
"That's okay." Rachel smiles softly. "No pressure. We all have shit here." Rachel huffs with a laugh.
"I can tell." You whisper. "No offense." You say quickly. "You seem fine, actually but everyone else has....a vibe. Even Gar, feels like there's something going on. Jason can't be that big of an asshole without having trauma and Dick seems like he picks up teenagers off the street because of trauma."
Rachel laughs. "Yeah, pretty much." She lets out a sigh. "My dad is a demon who tried to kill me."
You furrow your brows, forehead wrinkling as you slowly turn to look at Rachel. "I'm sorry, what?"
Rachel nods. "Gave this as a trophy." Rachel taps the gem that's embedded to her forehead.
"Well..." You pause. "What the fuck?" You laugh. "It's not funny...I just....did not think I'd hear that."
"Yeah," Rachel laughs softly. "I didn't expect to find out my dad was a demon. I guess it explains a lot." Rachel scrunches her nose.
"Yeah, meeting the parental figure that fucked shit up can sometimes have answers even if it's not the ones you want." You say quietly, feeling Rachel staring at you. "Long story, dad's an addict. Got the answers I didn't want but needed."
"Jeez." Rachel sighs.
"Yeah," You say, realizing you’re saying too much and figured this was enough for the night. "Hey, uh, I'm like...really tired." You tug the sleeves of the hoodie over your hands again. "Can I get some sleep?" You ask slowly, trying not to sound harsh.
"Yeah, of course!" Rachel says quickly, getting up from her spot. "I'll see you tomorrow." Rachel smiles at you. "You can trust us, just so you know. We're a family here."
"Thanks." You answer before Rachel heads for the door and leaves.
You almost hate to admit but you think maybe you could fit in here. It's a bunch of people with trauma trying to make something work, maybe even work through it. You actually like everyone that lives here from the small interactions you’ve had. Everyone seems genuine, even if one of them is an asshole, at least it's genuine. None of them seem to be here being held against their will. Rachel and Gar made you feel comfortable. The door isn't locked and you can leave when you want. Something about it still feels too good to be true but for this moment, just this moment, you let yourself sit in peace with the hope that it's all going to be okay again.
Tumblr media
next chapter
Tumblr media
series masterlist | masterlist | tag list
Tumblr media
Tag list: @italiana-20 // @fairyofshampoo​F----
272 notes · View notes
acutecoral · 5 months
Text
So with the Train Station being worked on for the next few days...I've been thinking what it could be about, right? Because things are ramping up and a lot of things can happen in a week and it doesn't help that we're getting so many hints about shit hitting the fan so
Because the train station wouldn't just be closed because of the dark matter clean up. It's definitely something else.
So here's what I'm thinking...it might be related to Protocol AB, the thing they actived all those weeks ago in the Maze, since it's the one that started the whole roulette thing in the first place I believe
But also because some other details I've noticed when Forever was sent to the Nether.
Which was...the Building he ended up being spat out at was a kind of train station
Tumblr media Tumblr media
And the Building had AB on it
Tumblr media
Now, do I think that the Nov 4 event will be a server wide thing to go to the Nether and find Forever AND the Eggs?
I mean, I honestly don't know, but personally I don’t think so.
Sure, it would be cool, but...I don't think it makes sense with the Tickets people have been getting. Because that had been happening before Forever was sent to the nether if I remember correctly.
So I started to ask, what else could it be?
Well...they could be sent somewhere else.
The idea came suddenly, but I remember someone's mention of Quackity's server list in his last vod, and also previous streams
Tumblr media
Like...this is kind of odd isn't it?
I remember the post also mentioning the idea that these are all other islands that the Federation owns and such?
So a possibility is that maybe, the train station comes back online and everyone who has a ticket gets to go to the trains out through the portal at the end of the rail line and...to get transported to another island?
I dunno, I'm not quite sold on the idea but it's an interesting possibility nonetheless
Because if there's an great evil and danger on the island, maybe this protocol was meant to send the residents to another Island for safety? Not sold on that either, just throwing out ideas
Also I'm thinking that whatever happened to the Eggs had them displaced, maybe to that other Island or server?
Did whatever evil that was mentioned before pull the Eggs there? Tallulah's sign said "here" when it mentioned about the Evil's presence, so is it wherever the Eggs are?
The nether could have acted as some sort of middle ground for all these different islands and such to be connected.
Anyways, I'm not sure, these are just mostly thoughts I wanted to put out there and hope they're coherent enough to be understood
Still if there is something I am sure of is that some travelling shenanigans is bound to happen on the 4th and I'm honestly so not ready for whatever they have in store because I am not sure what's going to happen
41 notes · View notes
sunreisets · 1 year
Text
little hints - Yukierre Instagram AU
sorry for the crap storyline it’s my first time writing an insta au 😭 haven’t written in a long time but i hope u like it!
IN WHICH
pierre gasly and yuki tsunoda tease their fans by dropping small hints of their relationship before giving into their pleas.
pierregasly
Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media
liked by yukitsunoda0511, alpinef1team, alphataurif1 and 450,589 others
pierregasly night out with the ❄️ 😋
View all 578 comments
yukitsunoda0511 thanks for paying bro
⮑ pierregasly no problem <3
⮑ yukierrefanpage THE HEART???
sakuratsunoda IS THIS A DATE NIGHT
⮑ lilygasly me and you when
⮑ sakuratsunoda 😳 
landonorris hit me up if you want another photo framed!
⮑ yukitsunoda0511 👍 
⮑ gaslierre_ AYO LANDO IS ONE OF US
pierregasly posted a story
Tumblr media
yukitsunoda0511
Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media
liked by pierregasly, alpinef1team, alphataurif1 and 300,678 others
yukitsunoda0511 date night with the rival 😉 
view all 670 comments
pierregasly never force me to drink starbucks again
⮑ yukitsunoda0511 u just don’t have taste
⮑ sakuratsunoda pierre doesn’t like starbucks???
formulaoflife AYO PIERRES NEW STORY UPDATE THOUGH???
⮑ pierregasly 😉 
⮑ lilygasly I am so close to combusting is my ship real holy shit
alpinef1team IRL liked by Pierre Gasly 😂❤️
liked by pierregasly, yukitsunoda0511, alphataurif1 and 30 others
⮑ yukierrefanpage HELP IS THIS REAL
pierregasly posted a story
Tumblr media
yukitsunoda0511 posted a story
Tumblr media
pierregasly and yukitsunoda0511
Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media
liked by landonorris, alpinef1team, alphataurif1, lewishamilton and 102,232 others
pierregasly and yukitsunoda0511 just wanted to say that if you still didn’t know, we’re happily together for over a year now, thank you all for supporting us on our journey and I hope you will keep doing so ❤️ 
yukierrefanpage OUR SHIP??? REAL?? HOLY SHITT THE ONE TIME I WIN 
sakuratsunoda be right back I am actually crying i’ve won guys I’ve won
⮑ lilygasly BESTIE LETS CRY TGT
⮑ sakuratsunoda ALR IM HEADING OVER TO URS RN
landonorris last image though 😂 
⮑ pierregasly that’s yuki
⮑  yukitsunoda0511 ur lying it’s pierre
sebastianvettel congratulations! always here for you two ❤️ 
⮑ lewishamilton same here! ❤️ will forever support you two 
⮑ formulaoflife SEWIS BEING SUPPORTIVE PARENTS IM CRYING I CANT WHAT AN AMAZING DAY /gen 
hope u enjoyed <3 i’ll post a part two maybe?
277 notes · View notes
use-your-telescope · 4 months
Text
When Everything's Made to be Broken - Chapter 9: Something So Brand New
Tumblr media
Summary: Theo makes good on her promise to Loki, and shenanigans ensue.
Author's Notes: So this is a longer chapter than I usually post, but given it all takes place during the span of one evening it didn’t make sense to split into two chapters. If you love Loki/Theo interactions, you’re in for a treat here. There’s also Brodinsons and Wanda/Theo friendship building as well. 
I’m *hoping* to post my next chapter on December 10, but I sense that we’re about to hit a rocky patch at my job as a series of stressors all collide (aka shit’s about to hit the fan), so I’m going to give myself a one week buffer and say that the chapter will be up by no later than December 17th. It’s written, but I’ve found that I like to go back and do an in-depth editing pass before posting that usually takes at least a few hours… Essentially, I would rather underpromise and overdeliver than say I’ll post something and then just… not. 
Oh, and RE: shit hitting the fan at work - I’m not worried about myself amidst the work stuff (I’m not about to lose my job or anything). I'm worried about the students I work with and how they’ll handle everything… And since my job is supporting said students, I imagine I’ll probably have my hands full. I’m intentionally being vague for privacy reasons, and in hopes that it doesn’t blow up so my concern is pointless. 
Completely unrelated, but I saw The Maine live last week and they opened with this song! They put on a great live show. 10/10 do recommend. 
If you enjoy, please reblog!! I'm a lil' blog and reblogs really help me out <3
Content Warnings: Alcohol/Drinking (including getting a bit too drunk). 
Word Count: 9,384
Read on AO3 | When Everything's Made to be Broken Masterlist
Song: Dose No. 2 - The Maine
First breath out of a coma Over and over Oh what a lovely view of you  A two step into disorder I stumble forward Towards something so brand new
“Hey, uh - some of us are going to hang out up on the roof tonight. Want to join?” 
Ever since Theo relented to Loki’s begging (and though he wouldn’t admit it, he totally begged her to join them), a foreboding sense of dread hung over Theo like a storm cloud, waiting for this very moment. A night of forced socializing and feigned pleasantries as the other Avengers tried not to make their suspicions about Theo painfully obvious - Theo would rather watch paint dry.
Across the threshold, hope radiated through the smile on Wanda’s face. She stood with hands in hoodie pockets, jeans and birkenstocks completing the Scarlet Witch’s look for that day. The outfit surprised Theo - from observation, Wanda only wore pants when working out, opting for skirts and dresses in daily life. Theo would have confidently bet real money that Wanda didn’t even own a pair of jeans.
Then again, it wasn’t the first time Theo was wrong, and it wouldn’t be the last.
Every possible excuse percolated in Theo’s mind for why she couldn’t join - lying about having plans, claiming she was tired or didn’t feel well, even outright admitting she didn’t want to go – but then Loki’s voice interrupted her thoughts, reminding her about the deal she struck.
And, well, after reading about the aftermath of Ultron and Sokovia, Theo realized they had more in common than she first thought.
“I— yeah, sure.”  Theo swallowed thickly, steeling herself for a miserable evening. She forced a smile at Wanda, praying that the expression didn’t look as uncomfortable as it felt. “I’ll join - let me grab a couple things first.”
Wanda’s face lit up, eyes wide as planets as she processed Theo's answer. “Great! This is going to be awesome! Uh, you should probably grab shoes, and maybe a jacket - it’s still a bit cool out.” She babbled, still gaping at Theo.
Theo held up a finger, stepping away from the door before Wanda could continue. She grabbed a thick sweater to cut the breeze, toed on some sneakers, and plopped a beanie over her hair, pausing in front of a mirror to make sure she didn’t look like a total mess.
Wanda practically bounced down the hall, constantly glancing back to check and make sure Theo hadn’t abandoned her. Theo trailed behind, listening to Wanda recount the construction of the rooftop lounge and how this was the first year they actually could use the space, and how excited they were to finally have a nice, private outdoor space to gather. At best, Theo half-listened along, her pulse quickening with every step closer to their destination. 
As they stepped out onto the rooftop, it actually seemed like the perfect night to enjoy a city skyline and a cold drink.
A fully stocked bar stood along the far end of the roof, while plenty of outdoor seating offered opportunities for everything from lounging around to enjoying a meal. The space even featured a fireplace table and heat lamps for cooler nights, which already had been turned on to cut the chill. True to the Stark aesthetic, all of the furniture came in muted tones and clean lines, sharing design language with the indoor common areas.
The other Avengers had settled in among a series of outdoor sectionals, some standing around the periphery while others gathered near the bar. As they drew closer, Theo realized that the company for the evening consisted of not only Avengers Tower residents, the Avengers who resided elsewhere…
Oh god, when Theo caved to Loki’s request, she had not expected it to play out like this; she thought it would be a movie night, or going out to dinner. Not everyone and their mother staring at her.
As if she sensed Theo’s nervousness, Wanda grabbed Theo’s hand and smiled at her, pulling her towards the larger group.
With every step, Theo braced herself for an icy reception, all the while building up the courage to put on a brave face. She met everyone once, that first day when she was announced as an Avenger - maybe twice, if she counted the briefing that she crashed - so at least there were no new faces.
Small blessings, she supposed.
Wanda didn’t go of Theo’s hand until they reached the edge of the group. It only took Wanda a moment to find Vision, standing behind one of the sectionals as he chatted with Shuri about something very science-y. Vision casually wrapped an arm around her, listening intently to Shuri, who gestured animatedly as she responded. 
Nearby, King T’Challa sat tall, dressed in a hybrid of western and African clothing with shoulders squared back as he conversed with Natasha about the United Nations and Wakanda. He spoke with a measured cadence that indicated he put great thought and intent into his words. On the opposite side of Natasha, Yelena slouched back in her seat, scrolling through her phone while laughing at something on screen. 
Not far from Yelena, Peter Parker told Tony about school and the latest device he was building. His enthusiasm struck Theo, and she caught herself smiling as she noticed the way Peter mirrored Shuri’s animated gestures, hands flailing wildly as he attempted to describe the contraption. Colonel Rhodes listened from the other side of Tony, with open posture and head tilted to the side, nodding along patiently… It was quite the contrast, especially next to the borderline manic tendencies of Tony and Peter’s unbridled enthusiasm. 
Nearby, Bruce spoke with Dr. Stephen Strange - a tall, thin man whose expression was entirely too serious and his posture uncomfortably rigid, which, if Theo thought about it, made sense for a former neurosurgeon. Sharon Carter chatted with Steve, Sam, and Bucky, laughter regularly erupting from the quartet; apparently, they were familiar with each other and had a lot to catch up on. 
Clint looked at home behind the bar with Scott Lang, snippets of conversation about their kids floating over the other conversations as they prepared drinks for everyone and brought them over to the group. 
Loki and Thor sat in deep discussion with the Valkyrie (or, as Loki often called her, Val) about something related to New Asgard; seeing a Valkyrie in a chunky sweater and Timbalands still threw Theo for a loop, but she knew that different people would adapt different aspects of life on Earth. 
Thor noticed Theo standing there, bewildered at the sight of everyone in one location.
“Lady Theo!” Thor exclaimed, standing to greet her. “Welcome to your first family night!”
Wait - did he just say family night?
Theo could practically hear the world screech to a halt as everyone fell silent, gaping at the new addition. Her heart stuttered in her chest as she froze in place, a veritable deer in the headlights.
“Brother—“ Loki hissed, rolling his eyes as he elbowed his brother. “Do not overwhelm her.”
“Uh… hi?” Theo cringed at how pathetic she sounded. “Sorry, didn’t mean to disrupt.”
“No apologies necessary - come, take a seat.“ Loki offered Theo a reassuring smile as he gestured for her to sit next to him. 
“Watch out, the prince is rescuing Rapunzel.” Tony teased, a smirk on his face as he raised a glass to her.
“Watch out everyone, Stark is jealous that a woman is not racing to offer herself up to him,” Loki retorted, sarcasm dripping from his voice. 
Raucous laughter came from Loki’s response; even Theo giggled as she sank into the cushions beside him. Loki, in turn, flashed a smirk and winked at her, before effortlessly folding Theo into the Asgardians’ conversation. Without needing to ask, Scott brought Theo an old fashioned, which caused a rush of gratitude to flood Theo’s veins.
The alcohol wouldn’t have much of an effect on her, but having something to occupy her hands with was always appreciated.
Likewise, the others returned to their conversations. Over time, topics shifted and incorporated other people, slowly snowballing as everyone tuned into the larger discussions.
At one natural lull in conversation, Loki went to refill his drink, leaving a vacant spot beside Theo in the process. He barely made it behind the bar when, with a whoop, Shuri leapt over the sectional and claimed the seat as her own. “Ha ha!” Shuri’s face was smug as she shimmied into the cushion, crossing one leg over the other as she stretched her arms along the back of the seat. “This will make a lovely throne.”
Despite the stutter of her heart from Shuri startling her, Theo couldn’t help but laugh when she caught T’Challa rolling his eyes at his sister.
“Excuse me, that was my seat!” Loki scowled, gesturing wildly to where he previously sat.
“Not anymore.” Shuri stuck her tongue out at him. “Besides, you speak to Theo all the time. It’s my turn.” 
The latter part of Shuri’s comment nearly made Theo choke on her drink - up until that point, hardly any attention was paid to Theo’s presence. Was that about to change?
“You are lucky I like you, princess,” Loki rolled his eyes, but let out a breathless laugh and shook his head. “Or else I might banish you to an alternate realm.” His threat lacked any teeth; if anything, it came off as a joke. He offered Theo a reassuring glance and the slightest nod, as if encouraging Theo to trust that Shuri wouldn’t make it weird.
Theo masked her nerves with a sip of her cocktail, allowing the notes of smoke and citrus to coat her tongue. 
If Shuri noticed the interaction, she didn’t say anything. Instead, she struck up a conversation about a funny tiktok trend that made her think of Theo, eventually morphing into a conversation about medical technology.
Seat stealing, however, was only the prelude to a series of hijinks during the evening.
It started innocently enough. A few drinks into the evening, Tony entertained the team with one of his tales about inventions gone wrong - this time, DUM-E had sprayed a visiting SHIELD agent with a fire extinguisher instead of the computer that actually caught on fire. 
While he rambled, Wanda glanced over and made eye contact with Theo. Wanda rolled her eyes before mouthing, “Want to see something fun?”
Theo nodded, curious to see what Wanda was going to do. 
A moment later, Tony reached forward to grab his drink and take a sip of it, only to stick his hand through the glass…
Where a nearly empty cocktail previously sat was nothing more than an illusion. 
Theo’s eyes darted to Wanda, who stood behind Tony sipping his drink. Theo had to bite back a laugh as Wanda grimaced and shook her head, not a fan of whatever Tony had in his lowball. 
“What the hell happened to my drink?” Tony whipped around, looking to see if someone had hidden it. His eyes settled on Loki, who glanced around at the others as he held his own drink, casually taking a swig. Either Loki hadn’t noticed, or he was really good at keeping a straight face. 
“Reindeer games, I swear to god-”
“I thought we’d moved past such childish accusations.” Loki cocked an eyebrow at him, unamused. 
“He didn’t move, Stark. Chill.” Bucky defended the Asgardian prince.
“Well someone took it, and it wasn’t Captain Stick-in-the-Mud.” Tony retorted, looking around the group. The glass vanished from Wanda’s hand before Tony could see it, presumably returning to the table where it started. 
“Okay guys, this isn’t funny,” Tony whined, completely oblivious to his beverage’s return to the table. 
To her left, Theo caught Loki taking a large drink of whatever was in his cup to stifle a laugh – he knew exactly what Wanda was up to. 
Just then, Tony turned back around to discover his drink in its original location. He groaned, slouching back in his seat. “Anyone who wants to turn in their cape for stand-up comedy, just let me know.”
As he returned to his story, Wanda winked at Theo before sending her a text message– “So we have a game during family time...” 
Theo stared at the screen for a moment before typing out a reply. “Which is…?”
Wanda’s face lit up as she read the message; a playful smile pulled across her lips as she typed out a reply. “How many pranks can we pull off before one of us starts laughing.”
Suddenly, a message from Loki popped up as well. “The only rule is that no one should be harmed. Otherwise, it’s fair game.”
Oh. Apparently Loki was playing along too.
Another message from Wanda came in: “You want in?”
Tempting, but with her reputation…
“Sounds fun, but not sure…” Theo responded, “I don’t know that the others trust me. Pranking them might make it worse.”
“If anything, they’ll believe I am the perpetrator,” Loki assured her via text message. “My affiliation with mischief and trickery lends itself to suspicion.”
Not only did Loki speak like he just read a thesaurus, but he even texted like it.
Theo stared at the screen for a moment, weighing her options. On one hand, she could stand to loosen up a little and have some fun. On the other hand, pranking someone could go over like a lead balloon if the prank didn’t land well; she needed to be confident that whoever she pranked would not be upset if she partook.
By then, Sam launched into a story about his last trip to see his sister and nephews in Louisiana. Bucky had tagged along, in part because the point of the trip was to fix up the Wilsons’ boat, and Sam knew he’d need an extra set of hands. A pigeon waddled about on the roof, only a few feet from where Sam sat. Sam, however, was oblivious to the bird’s presence; he was too busy mimicking how Bucky stole Sam’s tools to fix a leaky valve instead of simply using his vibranium arm.
After over a month of listening to Julie pine endlessly over Sam and his down to earth personality, ass of a national treasure, and good-natured sense of humor, Theo swore she knew more about Sam than she knew about her own cousin…
An idea sprung to Theo’s mind. She set her glass on the table, casually lowered her hands out of sight, and whispered an incantation. 
“How do you know vibranium would hold up to the steam?” The pigeon asked, cocking its head to the side as it waited for an answer.
Sam nearly leapt out of his seat as his eyes bugged out of his head.
“Wait a minute, wait just a minute – please tell me you all just heard that.” Sam stared at the others as they all gawked at the pigeon. Theo, however, snatched her glass and took a sip of her old fashioned so she didn’t give herself away. “Did that bird just talk?”
“Falcon, I did not realize that your skill set included speaking to birds.” Loki answered without missing a beat. 
Theo nearly spit out her drink as she fought the urge to burst into laughter.  
“Hey, just because I’m called Falcon doesn’t mean I like birds.” Sam argued, a twinkle in his eye as he settled back into his chair. He must have known there was some magic at play; if Theo was lucky, he would not know whose magic created the illusion.
“I want some of whatever he’s drinking,” Theo pointed at Sam, pretending to be oblivious about the use of magic so she did not draw suspicion. “Because that must be some good shit.” 
“No,” Tony replied, “The good shit is the Asgardian stuff.” 
“That stuff will knock you on your ass unless you’re a god,” Sam agreed with a toothy grin and a nod. “Even the super soldiers get drunk on it.”
“Tony, I’m assuming you tried it?” Sharon asked, narrowing her eyes at the billionaire.
“Of course I did,” he scoffed, putting a hand on his chest, “I am a connoisseur - had to see if the hype was true.”
“Until you had the hangover from hell the next day.” Natasha pointed out, a smirk dancing on her lips while she crossed her arms.
“Please,” Tony retorted, “It barely holds a candle to the frat party from hell-”
“-in your second year at MIT.” Rhodes, Sam, and Steve answered simultaneously, all rolling their eyes.
Tony must have told that particular story a time or twenty before.
“Lady Theo,” Thor called from behind the bar. “I’m about to refill my beverage. Would you like to try some Asgardian ale?” 
Theo glanced over at Loki and raised her eyebrows at him, hoping he’d give her some sort of subtle cue about whether it was a good idea; he just smirked at her and winked. 
Not helpful at all.
Then again, the night had gone well up to that point…
“Sure, why not?” Theo replied with a short shrug of her shoulders. She assumed that he’d take a shot glass from the bar and put a little ale in the glass - it may fuck up a normal person, but that was probably only when consumed in large quantities. A small amount of the ale wouldn’t hurt, right?
What she didn’t expect was Thor to bring over a massive mug of ale, filled to the brim. 
“That’s alcohol poisoning about to happen,” Yelena cracked up as she saw the size of the mug. 
Nearby, the Valkyrie cackled. “Thor, remember that Midgardians can’t handle booze like you can.”
“My liver hurts just looking at that.” Bruce commented, letting out a nervous chuckle but shaking his head.
Well, whether she wanted to share or not, the Avengers were going to learn something new about Theo.
“Oh, that’s what healing magic is for. Healing your liver after alcohol damage.” Theo quipped, earning a surprised snort out of Tony. A surge of confidence rushed through her as she winked, glanced at the deep red, clear liquid, then took a drink.
Given the ale’s reputation, Theo expected it to taste like everclear - practically straight ethanol that burned when consumed. However, a delightful, complex blend of flavors - citrus, juniper, and caramel - coated her mouth. Only a hint of hoppy bitterness accompanied, but each flavor in the unlikely combination balanced the others surprisingly well.
Theo smiled and gave Thor a nod of approval. “That’s better than I expected,” she admitted before she took another drink. “I was expecting something that burned my mouth from the alcohol content, but this is downright pleasant.” 
“I bet you twenty bucks you can’t finish that.” Bucky challenged, a smirk spread across his features as he leaned back into his seat. 
Bucky had no idea what he was getting himself into.
“The bet is just that I can’t finish it? That’s boring. Of course I’m going to finish it.” She scoffed, rolling her eyes. Sitting up a bit taller, she puffed her chest out in defiance and drank a large swig of ale.
“The real bet would be if she doesn’t throw it up afterwards – just because it goes into her system doesn’t mean she won’t get sick from it.” Steve pointed out, “Not that I think this is a good idea, mind you.” 
Remarks like that were probably how Steve earned the nickname of “Captain Stick-in-the-Mud.” 
Theo whipped out her wallet, throwing a $20 bill down on the table. “Game on. $20 bet that I can drink this and keep it all down.”
Bucky reached across to shake Theo’s hand before putting in his own $20 bill. 
Shuri and Yelena whooped in support, pumping their fists in the air. Bruce sighed as he shook his head and rubbed his temples. Steve rolled his eyes, while Clint smirked and shot Scott a look of well, this should get interesting. Peter’s eyes widened, despite furrowing his brow - he looked like he was worried.
What a sweet, sweet summer child.
Theo took another sip of the ale, then spoke up. “We need some tunes playing. It’s too quiet up here.” 
“Oh! I have some new music we can listen to!” Wanda jumped at the opportunity to hook her phone up to the wireless speakers. “It’s a local band that Vision and I saw last week. Theo, I think you’d like them – they sounded kind of like the music your band played.”
It was hard to imagine Vision at a concert, standing there with relatively stiff posture as other people were grooving to the music… He must have really liked Wanda to let her bring him to concerts. Did he like the same music as her?
Did he even like music?
Did androids have likes and dislikes? Or feelings? How did that work?
That was a rabbit hole to go down another day.
What sounded like some generic indie-pop music started to float through the air, but it was pleasant enough to be good background music. 
Loki sent another message – this time solely to Theo. “Are you truly planning to drink the entire mug?” Theo looked up at him, his eyebrow cocked up with skepticism and his chin dipped as he made eye contact.
“Maybe I am.” Theo replied, smiling at him and winking as his phone buzzed. 
Asgard wasn’t the only realm with particularly strong alcohol, and despite Theo’s small size she was no lightweight.
The group resumed their casual chatter. Wanda, Theo, and Loki continued to cast illusions and mess with the team in subtle ways, oftentimes struggling to maintain a poker face as the rest of the team grew drunker and drunker, and as a result became much easier to mess with. 
Eventually, Thor regaled the team with one of his latest adventures off-planet, voice booming as he gestured grandly about some battle he fought in. As the story started to near its climax, Theo caught the way Loki’s hand moved quietly to his side and twitched as he cast a spell.  
Theo’s eyes darted around as she tried to figure out what changed – it wasn’t until she looked up at Thor that she found her answer: 
Loki transformed Thor’s mug so it was shaped like a giant penis… while Thor drank out of it.
Wanda, who stood beyond Thor’s line of sight, lost it, face beet red and shoulders bouncing as she doubled over in silent laughter.
From what Loki previously shared, Thor reveled in sharing stories where he prevailed as the savior of the day. With that in mind, the choice to make Thor look absolutely ridiculous as he drunkenly extolled his heroism seemed like it was as much a jab at his self-importance as it was just plain old hilarious. Theo hadn’t taken Loki to be one for juvenile humor, but she had to hand it to him – it was well-played.
Even better, Thor didn’t even notice the change – he set the mug down on the table as he continued his story, and later on picked it up to take a swig to wet his throat. 
It didn’t take long before the others started to notice the mug’s new shape. The Valkyrie looked like she about to keel over; her shoulders shook so hard from silent laughter that if Thor turned around he’d know something was off. Natasha had to bite her finger to stop herself from breaking into laughter. Steve and Peter shared wide-eye, startled expressions, leaning away from Thor… who still hadn’t noticed.
The more time that passed without Thor noticing, the funnier the spectacle became.
Finally, Sam finally couldn’t take it anymore.
“Wow Thor, you’re really swallowing that ale like a champ.”
Tony choked, then spat out his drink while the people around him recoiled from the spray. Steve turned downright crimson with secondhand embarrassment, hiding his face behind his hands. 
“Yeah, you’re really gripping the shaft of the mug like it’s your job.” Bucky added, trying and failing to keep a straight face as Thor looked over at Tony and Steve, confused.
Theo’s eyes watered from trying not to laugh, and her jaw hurt from the muscle tension involved with maintaining her poker face.
“Dammit, I’m biting my tongue so hard to stop from laughing that it’s bleeding.” Wanda’s message popped up in the group chat, while Loki still effortlessly maintained a completely straight poker face and relaxed posture. 
“I thought you were a bit too high-brow for a good dick joke…” Theo added, fingers tapping the screen furiously as she replied.
“I know not of what you speak,” Loki answered innocently; he glanced over at Theo and winked, then followed his message with an eggplant emoji. 
Wanda nearly spit out her drink when she got that message.
Thor finally put two-and-two together as he looked down at his mug, then glared at his brother; however, he was laughing despite the glare, giant shoulders bouncing up and down. “Why must you taunt me so?”
“I hold no responsibility for this madness!” Loki protested, though the sparkle in his eyes told Theo that Loki knew he wasn’t going to convince them otherwise. “God of mischief I may be, but I’m hardly the only capable sorcerer on this team.”
“Well Theo’s been too busy downing some Asgardian ale,” Bucky commented, “And Wanda… Wait a minute. Wanda?”
They all turned to look at Wanda, who gave a deer-in-the-headlights expression as she pretended to be horrified. “The fact that you could imagine me doing this is mildly offensive,” she exclaimed, silently glaring at Loki. “Besides, Strange can cast spells too.”
Everyone looked over at Dr. Strange; one unamused eyebrow raise was enough to dispel any thoughts that he’d been the one behind it.
“Let’s be real – Reindeer games would be the one to make that joke.” Tony pointed out, “Which… well played, I’ve gotta say. Not much makes me spit out my drink like that.”
Loki smirked, shaking his head and rolling his eyes. “You need to raise your standards, Stark.”
Steve, who was still mostly sober and desperate for a change of topic, looked back at Theo and noticed her nearly empty mug. “Wow, you weren’t kidding about finishing the ale.”
In turn, Theo downed the remaining ale and placed the mug on the table. “Yeah – It was good. But I’ve gotta say, for all the talk about how it will get me drunk, I still feel pretty sober. Are you sure you weren’t messing with me? This isn’t some fraternity-style hazing thing to bring a new team member on board?”
“No, my lady,” Thor confirmed, “That was genuine Asgardian ale. I must say, I’m impressed.”
Theo cast a glance over to Loki before sending a text. “You didn’t mess with this, did you?”
“I would never deny someone the opportunity to get drunk.” Loki looked dead serious as he sent the message, so she took his word for it.
“Well shit,” Bucky replied, his words slurring ever-so-slightly from his own alcohol consumption. “How about double or nothing – we each drink a mug of ale, and whoever is more sober at the end of the night gets $40.”
Steve tried to cut in. “Bucky, no –“
Bucky, yes.
“Deal.” Theo shook his hand again, confident that she was about to become $40 richer. Not only was Bucky already more drunk than her, but the Asgardian ale would only exacerbate the difference in their sobriety levels. 
He probably wouldn’t end up with alcohol poisoning, so it’d be fine. Maybe a hangover, but not alcohol poisoning.
“Now here’s the thing -” Bucky began, “- Before your mug can be refilled, you have to do the Asgardian call for another drink.” 
“Which is…?” Theo arched a wary eyebrow, unsure if she wanted to know the answer.
With perfect timing, Thor finished his beverage and demonstrated by throwing his mug down on the ground, shouting “ANOTHER!” as the glass smashed against the concrete and shattered into a million pieces.
Theo gasped and nearly flew out of her seat from the noise, heart pounding in her chest. She looked at the glistening fragments of glass, then up at Thor, then back down at the glass.
.  
Thor failed to stifle his laughter as Loki rolled his eyes in the background; with a flick of his wrist, the shards of glass vanished in a flash of emerald light. 
“Yeah that’s going to be a hard pass from me, dude.” Theo shook her head, stood up and walked over to the bar to refill mug. While she was behind the bar, she also pulled out a fresh mug for Bucky.
“Oh no, you don’t get to pour – we need someone neutral to do it, so we know it hasn’t been messed with!” Bucky called out, shaking his head at her as he moved to join her at the bar.
“Well I can certainly be the judge of that.” Loki volunteered, his voice a cool contrast to the rambunctious shouting and cheering that echoed from the rooftop.
“You’re really letting loose tonight,” Loki’s message appeared on Theo’s phone. “It’s nice to see you relax a bit.” Theo blushed and cracked a sheepish smile.
Loki strolled behind the bar, took both mugs and filled them up. Once satisfied that each mug contained the same amount of ale, he handed one mug to Bucky and the other to Theo. He then filled a mug of his own before returning to the rest of the group.
“As the judge, I reserve all right to document any embarrassing moments for blackmail in the future.” Loki told everyone quite seriously.  Shuri cracked up and added that if Loki didn’t capture the evidence, she certainly would, and with how the Princess of Wakanda held her phone at the ready, Theo fully believed her.. Theo returned to her seat, noticing Shuri had saved her place; Bucky trailed close behind.
“You say that like I’m going to do something embarrassing.” Theo teased, holding her mug up to Bucky and Loki as if to suggest a toast. “To Bucky making one of the dumbest bets he’ll ever make.” 
“To the new girl finally gracing us with her presence,” Bucky replied with a wide grin, “and not realizing she’s about to lose the bet!” 
The rest of the group held up their glasses and clinked them together, after which Bucky managed to drain about a quarter of his mug in one swift drink. 
“I didn’t realize this was a chugging contest.” Bruce commented with a nervous laugh as Bucky set his mug down.
Theo, recognizing that rapid alcohol consumption would not help Bucky in the bet, snickered. “You can’t enjoy it if you chug it, you know that right?”
Bucky offered a coy grin in response, his cheeks flushed pink from the alcohol in his veins.
He really had no idea what he was in for.
And I feel alright (Feel alright) Yeah I feel alright, Alright… I let go This is something spiritual When I say so Give me life, give me love Leveled up on a higher dose No sorrow (baby this is chemical) Hit just like an antidote (can’t come down, down) Adios (give me, yeah give me) Give me life, give me love  Leveled up on a higher dose
This was certainly a different side to Theo than Loki had ever seen.
Her guard wasn’t up in the same way it was at Stark’s party, nor was she silent and reserved, as if it were a mission briefing or meeting. The relaxed, easygoing demeanor that Loki eventually uncovered after multiple interactions made its debut amongst the others, and for the first time since the infamous briefing, it seemed like Theo wasn’t afraid to be the center of attention.
In truth, Theo’s decision to join in the evening’s activities surprised Loki. Though Theo agreed to stop declining the invitations from Maximoff, Loki had expected that this would not be the occasion which Theo relented, as the large group could be rather intimidating. Instead, he anticipated that Theo would wait until she could verify that it would be a small gathering with ample opportunities to depart, should she grow uncomfortable.
Instead, the sight of Theo trailing behind Maximoff as they crossed the rooftop brought the first of many pleasant surprises in the evening. If the expression Theo wore when Thor addressed her provided any indication, Theo had not anticipated such a robust gathering, and for a moment Loki feared she might teleport away from the immense attention suddenly focused on her.
Luckily, that had not been the case. From time to time, Loki caught Theo glancing towards him with a silent question in her eyes, usually as if trying to assess the situation, but as the evening wore on the questioning glances decreased, replaced by smirks and thinly veiled attempts to refrain from laughing at the others. 
Perhaps the greatest surprise in the evening came when Theo agreed to not only try some Asgardian ale, but challenge Barnes to what one might consider a drinking contest with the aforementioned ale. Given Barnes held two significant advantages - his substantially larger size and the physiological changes from the super-soldier serum - the odds seemed stacked against the sorceress. If anything, Loki suspected that hubris fueled Theo’s decision.
However, he was far too curious about the outcome to consider intervening unless things turned sour, and up to that point he saw no cause for concern. Theo seemed fine, continuing to engage in conversation while working through her beverage. Occasionally, Loki caught himself staring at Theo’s petite hands, her dainty fingers wrapped around the massive mug of ale. If he could be honest with himself, The juxtaposition was rather adorable.
Barnes, unsurprisingly, was the first to finish his ale. Theo, however, was not far behind.
“I have a proposition.” Banner spoke up, looking between the empty mugs with a twinkle in his eye. “I think we should give these two a field sobriety test and see who is more sober… For science, of course.”
Loki, unfamiliar with the test Banner mentioned, hesitated. “And what exactly does a Midgardian sobriety test entail?” 
“Oh, it’s easy.” Theo assured him, standing up and stretching both arms overhead. “You just answer some questions and do some basic tasks, like walking in a straight line and balancing on one foot for a while.”
Loki studied Theo with some doubt; when she didn’t notice, he messaged her. “Are you certain it will be so simple?”
Theo typed and sent her reply without even looking at her mobile’s screen. “Bucky’s about to get destroyed.”
Barnes swayed the moment he stood up, nearly tripping over his own feet as he made his way towards the area where they set up the test. He hadn’t even walked half of the line marked out before it became clear as crystal that Barnes was utterly toasted.
Theo, meanwhile, seemed only lightly buzzed. She easily completed the straight line test… while walking on her hands. 
“A woman after my own heart,” Romanoff laughed, clapping as Theo finished the test. “It’s not often we have team members who are able to move like that.”
“Girl, you’ve gotta teach me how to do that,” Shuri exclaimed, “That’s dope as hell!”
Theo gracefully returned to her feet, pausing for just a moment to adjust her clothes before she feigned a curtsy and smirked at Barnes, who simply groaned from where he sat.
From what little Loki knew of Theo’s background, the ability to walk on her hands came as no surprise - she had formal training in acrobatic maneuvers, and her goaltending demonstration highlighted her agility. Yet, she did not seem like the sort who would walk on her hands for fun… Though from what he had seen, she certainly was the sort of person who would do so to prove a point. Quite frankly, It was the kind of thing that Loki might do if he were in her position.
All things considered, it seemed like Theo might share Loki’s penchant for mischief and trickery.
“Normally gods are the only ones who don't get knocked on their ass by Asgardian ale.” Stark commented, brow furrowed and eyes narrow as he studied Theo. 
“Asgard isn’t the only place with abnormally strong liquor,” Theo casually explained, shaking out her shoulders and stretching her neck. “There really are some places with nothing better to do than drown your sorrows!” 
Loki couldn’t help but laugh at her comment, though the choice of words piqued his curiosity. Of course there was the realm she refused to speak of, yet it sounded as if Theo referred to more than one location. Had she visited other realms as well?
Surely, she was exaggerating.
“You’re talking about Michigan, right?” Stark teased.
“No, I’m talking about spending time with you.” Theo deadpanned, winning a lively round of jeers and laughter of the group.
Not done showing off, Theo proceeded to balance on one foot for five minutes while casually discussing the merits of different types of alcohol that she’d encountered and how the Midgardian body metabolized alcohol, far longer than the 30 seconds that were required for a field sobriety test (at least, according to Doctor Banner). Gesturing vivaciously as she spoke, Theo’s eyes lit up with amusement as the others laughed along with her commentary.
As someone who was an expert at embellishing stories, Loki could tell when Theo added flourishes or exaggerated details. However, any talented storyteller understood that the best tales required a bit of panache, and Theo was no exception. While the others may not have noticed, to Loki, it was painfully obvious that Theo knew she was putting on a show. 
“Okay, I think at this point there’s a pretty clear winner.” Rhodes snickered as Barnes laid down on a sofa, complaining about the way the world spun..
Theo happily took the $40 that Barnes previously threw down on the table, smirking as she dramatically tucked it into her wallet.
“Is anyone hungry? I could go for some pizza right about now.” Maximoff asked, looking around at the others.
“FRI, you heard the lady!” Stark lifted his head as he spoke up to no one in particular. “Well… I was actually thinking we could go out for pizza?” Maximoff suggested, shrugging her shoulders as she pointed behind herself towards the elevator.
Frankly, after such lively conversation and company, Loki was nowhere near ready to turn in for the night… Even if “going out” was not his preferred activity, perhaps it was worth accompanying the others on their venture.
“As much as I’d love to, I should probably make sure Bucky gets to bed in one piece.” Rogers replied, his point amplified by Barnes’ unintelligible grumbles.
“Yeah, it’s getting late –” Banner glanced at his watch before he stood up. “I’m ready to call it a night.” 
“I’d join you.” Loki nodded at Maximoff, lightly shrugging his shoulders. 
“Pizza sounds like fun.” Belova pushed herself up from her seat. “I’d go.”
“I’m down!” Shuri added, stretching as she rose to her feed. 
Theo had yet to respond, eyes darting between the others as they responded. She didn’t seem tired, but experience indicated she would not opt-in unless clearly invited to attend 
“The night is young – why not enjoy some excellent company for a little longer?” Turning to Theo, Loki offered a wry smile as he offered a hand to help her up. “Would you care to join? I suspect Maximoff would even let you select the pizza place…” He shot a knowing glance to Maximoff, who grinned and nodded.
“Sure, I suppose I can come along.” Theo perked up, mirroring Loki’s smile as she accepted the gesture, and allowed Loki to pull her to her feet. “I’m not sure what my options are for pizza around here, so I would defer to someone else to choose.”
Loki felt a bit of heat creep up on his cheeks - he ought to have remembered that Theo only recently became a resident of Midtown, so her knowledge of local eateries would be limited at best.
“Oh, there’s lots of great options nearby!” Parker exclaimed, bouncing up from his seat. “My favorite is–”
“She didn’t tell you to pick a place,” Shuri held a hand out to stop him as she smirked.
Parker replied with a pout, crossing his arms to make a point.
“If you tell me what place you want to go to, I’ll suggest it,” Theo winked at the spiderling.
“That’s not how this works!” Shuri protested, turning to Theo and covering her heart with mock offense.
“Okay, okay,” Theo held up her hands, laughing as she shook her head. “Wanda, pick a place since you wanted pizza and I have no idea what’s good around here.”
“I can do that - Vis, you coming?” Maximoff beamed at Vision, reaching for his hand.
“I shall accompany you.”
And off they went, in search of pizza.
Mic check  - say hi to LoLo Goodbye to normal Welcome to your mad world Where you can forget  About your boredom From this day forward Well I will give you love on every level
If anyone had asked Theo that morning how she expected her evening to go, drinking a supersoldier under the table and then going out for pizza at one in the morning with some of the Avengers would not have come to mind. Yet, in another edition of “my life is stranger than fiction,” that was exactly how Theo’s night played out.
The pizza place Wanda recommended was fairly close to Avengers tower - down an alleyway and through a side door, the restaurant sat tucked in the basement of a bar that Theo recognized because she played a couple shows there a while ago.. 
When they first walked in, the atmosphere practically screamed “hole in the wall.” The lights were kept low - low enough that it was easy to hide the dirt permanently coated on the floors. The smell of cheese and cheap beer lingered in the air. Even at the late hour, the place was packed. Perhaps the low light was to their advantage - no one seemed to notice the group of superheroes as they made their entrance, which was a relief. It took Theo back to the midnight hours in Durham. Her friends drunkenly crowded into booths for food after spending the night getting guys to buy out the bar for them. Theo had to play along in those days in order to hide her magic and its effects on her body - however, the lack of drunkenness meant she was still able to recall the exact way the place felt. And this… this felt all too familiar. 
When they found an empty booth, they wasted no time claiming it as their own, even if it meant they had to squish together so everyone fit. With the way they packed themselves together, Theo couldn’t help but notice Loki’s body against hers, steady and firm without encroaching on her personal space. Loki may have been her first friend among the Avengers, but that didn’t mean they were ever quite so close. From Theo’s observations, Loki seemed like he avoided physical contact whenever possible, recoiling from Thor’s touch and carefully distancing himself when anyone else drew near. Really, Theo couldn’t remember ever having made any physical contact with him that wasn’t an accidental brush of the hands when they handed items to each other. 
Despite feeling a bit thrown off by the touch, she wasn’t uncomfortable… If anything, it was actually kind of nice. 
Not that she was going to say anything, because that would absolutely make it weird. 
The effortless, lighthearted conversation that started on the rooftop continued the moment they sat down, even as everyone made quick work of the first round of drinks and the pizza, continuing to the extent that it wasn’t long before they ordered another round of drinks. 
After the waitress delivered the second round of drinks, Wanda swallowed the bite of pizza she had been chewing, then spoke up. 
“Thank you.” Wanda paused, considering her words. “For coming out tonight, that is. This has been fun.” She beamed at Theo. “I’m glad you have a sense of humor. The pigeon was well played.”
Theo blushed, biting back a smile. “Thanks for letting me in on the fun… though I have to say, I think Loki took the trophy home for best prank of the night.”
This time Loki didn’t try to deny it, grinning with a mischievous twinkle in his eye. “It is important to remind my brother to stay humble… ‘Tis best to not allow his ego to overtake him. Do you agree?”
Theo let out a laugh, just barely tinged with melancholy as she thought about her sister. “That is part of a sibling’s job description, isn’t it?”
“Am I remembering correctly that you have a sister?” Vision asked Theo. “I recall mention of a sibling in your file, though you��ve not spoken much on the matter.”
Theo flinched, though the motion was barely perceptible. Loki’s eyes flickered over at her - he must have still noticed. 
“I do… but she’s presumed dead, like my parents. We got separated when we ended up in the other realm” Theo shrugged as nonchalantly as she could manage, but the way the expressions in the group softened told her that they picked up on her discomfort around the topic. “My Mémère – err, my Grandma – raised me after that, and she raised my younger cousin, Max; he’s practically my younger brother.”
“There’s no reason to be nervous; family is a complicated subject for pretty much everyone on the team.” Wanda assured her.
Theo flashed a thin, yet grateful smile. “Yeah, I gathered that was practically a prerequisite for joining the Avengers.”
Loki snorted at her comment.
Wanda took the opportunity to change the topic, launching into the recap of the last band that she saw in this particular place. Apparently this was one of her favorite spots to go when she wanted to blend in and have some fun, especially since the poor lighting made it hard to be recognized. 
As Wanda spoke, Theo noticed a young couple making out next to a jukebox and couldn’t help but smile at the sight – they may have assumed that the poor lighting obscured them from view, but their affection was sweet. Another wave of nostalgia from her days in Durham washed over Theo.
It occurred to her that everyone in the booth had lived vastly different lives from her own: a literal princess sat next to a kid who grew up in Queens; an orphan sat next to an android, who sat across from a frost giant/literal god, and on Theo’s opposite side was someone who trained to be a spy since before she could walk. However, Theo didn’t feel like a fish out of water. On the contrary, she actually felt like she belonged there, sitting in this cramped booth with six other people who knew what it was like to be different. And the best part was, she didn’t even have to hide what made her unique.
Her heart warmed at the thought.
By the time they finally left the pizza place, it was nearing three in the morning – the sun would rise in a few hours, however Theo was still wide awake. Wanda must have sensed that Theo was still ready for an adventure because she paused outside, looking in the direction opposite the tower.
“So where are we going now?” Theo inquired, looking between the others. 
“Given you have a high alcohol tolerance, I think we should do some bar hopping,” Wanda offered, “This is New York, after all, the city that never sleeps. We might as well make it a proper night out!”
“The princess is out of her tower and there are some fine establishments nearby.” Loki added, a smug expression curling over his lips as he crossed his arms. Shuri cracked up, entirely aware that Loki was referring to Theo and not to her.
“I don’t know why you’re calling me a princess when we have a literal princess with us.” Theo offered a playful scoff in response to his joke, pointing at Shuri. 
“The literal princess had a great time, but she’s gotta go back to Oakland tomorrow.” Shuri smirked and took a bow. “So I’ve gotta call it a night.”
“Yeah, I have a biology exam I need to study for tomorrow, so I should get some sleep.” Peter agreed.
“I head out for a mission bright and early,” Yelena sighed, “So I should probably go too.”
“They may be ditching us, but I’m down to go check out the bars,” Theo offered. “But I hope you don’t make the same mistake Bucky did - that might not go as well, since you aren’t a super soldier.”
Wanda laughed freely, her eyes crinkling at the corners. “Oh no, I’m not about to try and match you drink for drink. Consider this our way of giving you a tour of the neighborhood!”
Vision, of course, was also fine with bar hopping; as long as Wanda was there it seemed like he would be happy. 
After bidding goodnight to Shuri, Peter, and Yelena, the remaining four Avengers departed for the first bar. The cover of night provided protection from the stares that Theo expected to get walking down the street, though it was likely helped by the decrease in people out and about at the odd hour. 
The quartet moved between local bars seamlessly. The sight of the Avengers didn’t draw the looks Theo would have expected most celebrities to draw - the other three, apparently, were regulars. They chatted with other customers and joked around with the bartenders, always making a point to casually slip an introduction to Theo in the mix without making it awkward. More often than not, the other customers would buy a round of drinks for the group as a way of welcoming Theo to the team, and before Theo could respond either Loki or Wanda would accept on her behalf.
If Theo didn’t know better, Loki and Wanda were on a mission to see just how much alcohol it took to get Theo drunk; frankly, as long as Theo wasn’t the one footing the bill, she didn’t mind the opportunity to loosen up a bit.
As the sun crept over the horizon, Theo felt the warm buzz that came with mild inebriation, having consumed enough alcohol to finally overcome her obnoxious tolerance. 
Loki had a slight flush to his cheeks and a hint of glassiness in his eyes – there was no way that he could become intoxicated from what a human would drink alone, but between the Asgardian ale he consumed earlier and the other drinks, he seemed more relaxed than usual. Up until that point, Theo noticed that even when relaxed, Loki always had this air of being immensely composed, but that night it seemed like he let some of that properness fall away and let his guard drop ever-so-slightly.
In contrast, Wanda was comfortably drunk, allowing herself to hiccup and giggle freely while slurring some of her words. Not messy drunk by any means, thanks to Loki and Vision switching out some of her drinks for Shirley Temples when Wanda wasn’t looking (given how easily they managed the feat, Theo guessed it wasn’t the first time they had swapped her drinks so she didn’t get sick). 
Vision was the only one who was sober, but that had to be a normal occurrence… Not shockingly, it was impossible for an artificial intelligence system to process alcohol. Theo found it odd to watch Vision eat and drink like a normal person, since he didn’t actually digest food and that he didn’t even need to eat to function. The sight was even more jarring when he camouflaged himself to appear like a person and not an android, which he did anytime he ventured into public. 
Still, it wasn’t the weirdest thing Theo had ever seen…
With the sun peeking over the horizon, bringing with it the impending arrival of the morning, the group agreed it was time to return to the tower. While there was nothing on their agenda for the day that they had to prepare for, by that time everyone had been awake long enough that they were more than ready for bed. Vision and Wanda led the way, Vision wrapping his arm around Wanda to help her stay steady as she giggled and cooed endlessly at him, utterly lovestruck each time she looked at her partner. 
Behind them, Loki and Theo strolled beside each other in comfortable silence. As they moved, Theo discreetly observed Loki. His normally upright, regal posture had softened. His eyes gazed out into the distance, though it didn’t seem like they had a fixed point of interest. He kept his hands in his pockets, and his expression reserved - just the slightest hint of knitted brows adorned his expression.
The man beside her was different from the Loki that Theo first met, or the Loki she saw earlier in the evening – the sharp, charismatic, and sarcastic prince was replaced by a much quieter, introspective man. Even with the faint warmth of the alcohol in Theo’s system, she could sense storms swirling in his mind that were locked away from public view. She couldn’t help but wonder how often he allowed that side of him to show.
When they arrived at the tower and made their way up to the residential floors, Theo couldn’t help but notice the way that Loki held the elevator door for her, and how he placed his hand on the small of her back as she passed by. It must have been the way that Loki was raised that made him do those things - as a prince, he must have been taught these types of gestures as a part of proper etiquette - but the feeling of his touch lingered long after his hand left her back.
No one else was around, which meant that it was either too early for the others to be up, or those who were already awake were off doing something else. Those moments of stillness were rare in the tower, and after a long but fun night out, Theo was grateful for the peace and quiet. Up ahead, Wanda giggled and squealed as Vision patiently coaxed her towards their suite. It didn’t take long for them to disappear behind the door, leaving Loki and Theo to themselves. The pair’s comfortable silence continued as they made their way down the hall, pausing outside the door to Theo’s suite.
“This was a lot of fun,” Theo commented to Loki, a shy smile on her lips as she took hold of the door handle, but refrained from opening the door.
“Indeed,” he nodded, sticking his hands back in his pockets and shifting his weight back onto his heels as he gave her a nervous smile. “I’m glad you’ve come out of your shell a bit more – it is nice to spend time with you.” 
They both stood there, biting back smiles as they looked into each other’s eyes. In the peace of the tower and the sun rising, there was almost a special sort of peace that fell between them - a moment frozen in time.
Eventually though, that moment had to end.
Theo cleared her throat, a rising heat now present on her cheeks. “Well, I should probably…” Theo trailed off, gesturing that she was going to head inside. “Uh, good night Loki.”
“Right,” Loki blushed, looking away as he dipped his head. “Good night Theo.” 
Theo found herself reflecting on the night as she got ready for bed. Yes, Loki, the little bastard was right - the Avengers, for all their initial assumptions and hesitations, genuinely did want to be her friend.
And despite every reason why Theo shouldn’t want to, at the end of the day… She wanted to be their friend too. 
I let go (I let go) This is something spiritual (something spiritual) A vibrant soul (a vibrant soul) Give me life, give me love Got me hooked on a higher dose No sorrow (baby this is chemical) Hit just like an antidote (can’t come down, down) Adios (give me, yeah give me) Give me life, give me love  Leveled up on a higher dose
29 notes · View notes
spookymystery67 · 6 months
Text
I Wish I Could Walk In Heels
AN: Yes. That's is the title lol. I caved and made an Ada story! Only problem is it will be long, slow burn and will take a few chapters before Ada is even introduced. Sorry about that. Also, I've never written a love story before, so we'll see how it goes. This story will take place mostly in the resident evil games and is mostly written for female readers as I don't know how to write for others. I am cross posting on ao3 with the username RaineyDaysInRaccoonCity. NO MINORS! MATURE PEOPLE ONLY. I'm not writing smut (maybe) but still, 18+. I will put trigger warnings for the story. Enjoy!
TW: Violence, blood/gore, implied/reference sexual assault, murder/death, zombies, mentioned human experimentation, ect. It's a Resident evil fic, I would hope you would know what you're getting into.
Chapter 1:
Zombies.
Never, in all your 20 years of life so far, did you ever think that zombies could actually become a thing. Yet, here you were, dealing with said zombies.
September 28, 1998 is when shit really hit the fan in Raccoon City. Before that, there were sporadic attacks and strange happenings all over the city the last few weeks. People seemingly having random psychotic breaks and brutally attacking strangers, friends, and family members. They would tear into them with their teeth and kill them in the process. The news covered it, though they never truly went into depth about what was the cause of these "psychotic breaks".
Of course, you knew exactly how this all started. Let's start from the beginning of your part in this chaos.
It was the summer of 1998. You had graduated high school two years prior in 1996. You were not really sure of exactly what career you wanted to pursue, unlike your peers, who all seemed to have a plan on what to do for the rest of their lives. You just knew that you wanted to do something involving writing.
Writing wasn't exactly your life long passion. More of a current interest you had taken up in high school. You have had many hobbies throughout your life, nothing ever quite taking your mind hostage like reading did. Reading was always something you enjoyed, and when you were six, you had expressed to your parents about wanting to be a professional reader. But, according to them, that wouldn't pay the bills. They had wanted you to become something more. Like a doctor or lawyer. Something you have never had any interest in.
Writing only became an interest when you realized you needed a plan besides "professional reader". It was the closest you could get to reading without becoming a librarian and disappointing your parents too much. Granted, they weren't very happy with that career choice either. But you had given up wanting their approval for everything and flew the nest right after graduation.
Now, you still need to make money for your apartment, and for life in general. You desperately wanted to move on from your dead-end job at a fast food place that you had been working at for two years now. It was sucking the life, and the minimal joy you had left, away from you. College? Not an option. Nor were you interested in the lifelong debt attached to it. 
Running low on options, you had decided to apply to be a journalist's assistant. No one that you had applied for was really interested in having you, a relatively fresh high school graduate with minimal to no experience in any field involving the career, work for them. All except for one person.
Ben Bertolucci.
Ben was a freelance investigative journalist. He's a caucasian man who wore glasses and a ponytail, along with a goatee on his face. He had come to Raccoon city after hearing about the strange murders in Arklay County. He believed that there was something deeper going on, that there was something at work that was preventing the police from investigating further into these cases. Though after weeks of dead ends, he felt he needed a fresh pair of eyes to assist him on this.
Ben had seen the potential in you. Or so he had told you. He saw a drive in you that you hadn't even noticed in yourself. A need to do what was right by the civilians of Raccoon City and do whatever it took in the process to get there. Even if you'd put yourself in danger.
"That is exactly what I need for this project. Someone who wants to seek out injustice and expose it for what it really is. To show the civilians what's really happening behind all the red tape." Ben had said. You couldn't help but agree to the job. You had felt that something wasn't right in Raccoon City. And you really wanted to get to the bottom of it. 
That all started with Umbrella.
You had both spent your time bribing and blackmailing Umbrella employees to get your information. This helped you learn that Chief Brian Irons had been accepting bribes to work for Umbrella and help cover up whatever shady shit they had going on. One informant had also briefly mentioned the orphanage being connected with Umbrella. They had never mentioned exactly how, too afraid to reveal that information. 
That had filled you with dread. What could be so bad that they were afraid to say? You theorized that maybe those adoptions weren't actually adoptions. What they could have been doing to those kids, you didn't know. Now your curiosity had peaked, and you desperately needed answers.
All these bits and pieces of the puzzle were connecting, but nothing was giving you the bigger picture. Umbrella, Irons, orphanage, strange attacks and murders. All connected, but how and why exactly wasn't known. You needed more than just bits. You needed everything. 
So you both came up with a plan, Ben would investigate more on Irons, and you, Umbrella. An Umbrella employee had agreed to help get you in. He seemed to be out for a bigger profit than he gets working for Umbrella and wanted out. He didn't tell you exactly how he would be getting the bigger profit, and you weren't sure he was reliable, but you would cross that bridge when you came to it.
You're probably wondering, why did Ben get the "easier" end of investigation? Shouldn't he be attempting to infiltrate Umbrella, what with him having more experience?  Well, for one, Ben had already made a name for himself in Umbrella. His failed interview with Annette Birkin had put him on a list. 
Adding on to that, you both learned that not only was Irons sketchy with work and who he dealt with, he was also a major creep. Some women had expressed how he would make nasty, sexual, innuendos towards them and borderline harass them. He would get away with it all, of course. He was the Chief of police after all. A "hero" to the people of Raccoon City. He would never do such a thing.
Now, this was all from word of mouth. No physical evidence to prove it. But one person who had also, unfortunately, encountered Irons was Katherine Warren, daughter of the Mayor of Raccoon city. Her word you trusted, as she was your best friend, and now,  a secret lover of Ben's. 
-September 20th, 1998-
"Trust me, he is a disgusting man. Always looking at me with a hunger in his eyes that makes me nauseous. I can't tell if he wants to sleep with me or murder me." Katherine grimaced as she popped a fry in her mouth. Her pretty blonde hair was in a casual updo and her blue sweater was wrapped snugly against her pale skin, pulled up slightly at the sleeves to avoid ketchup stains.
The three of you were at a corner booth in a quiet and secure diner for lunch. A quaint little place you three liked to hang out at to hide away from the world. Katherine was sitting in the booth across from you and to the left of Ben, who had a protective arm around her shoulders and a sour look on his face.
You cringed from the way she described the man. "Why do you talk to him? He sounds awful." You asked as you reached for a french fry from her plate. 
"The only reason I interact with him is because of my father. He brings me to these charity parties and Irons is always there. I have to play nice." She smacked your grabby hand away from her plate. You playfully pouted and took a bite of your garden salad that you now regret getting after looking at those fries. Kathrine eventually took pity on you and allowed you to take a few fries from her plate as Ben chuckled at the scene, briefly forgetting the topic at hand.
"Bottom line, it's best you stay away, Y/n. You're a young, attractive woman and you are bound to make it on to Irons radar rather than around it. Ben might have better luck sneaking around for whatever you two are looking for. I really don't want you getting his attention." Kathrine finished.
She didn't have an in-depth idea of what you two were doing. She just knew it was big, and potentially dangerous, if things were to go south. But she was happy to help however she could for her best friend and boyfriend.
Ben and you shared a solemn glance, agreeing with that statement. You'd only attract attention. He'd be better with dealing with Irons in this scenario. He would have to be careful, what with Umbrella having put him on the watch list.
"Alright, looks like I might get the harder job huh?" You weakly joked to the two.
"I'm not worried. I have faith in you, Y/n." Ben grinned.
"That makes one of us." This was a lot. You weren't sure if you would be able to make it into Umbrella's secret lab and get data without getting caught. There was a lot at stake here, and you couldn't let anyone down.
"Two of us. I believe in you too." Kathrine added, reaching forward to grab your hand over the table in comfort. She's sweet. Sometimes too sweet. Makes you think that she doesn't deserve this corrupted world around her. 
"You've got this. Come on, Y/n. You've helped me get so far on this case in the last few months than I ever would have on my own. I chose you to help me because I saw your potential. And you have yet to disappoint me. If anyone can do this, it's you." Ben said seriously. He stared you right in the eye, wanting you to know that he meant every word of what he said. 
Ben knew you suffered from serious self doubt and that you always thought you did everything wrong. He thought that it might have come from your childhood. When he became not only your employer, but your friend as well, he had set out to make you get rid of that habit. He and Katherine combined had been making some progress in that.
You sighed, "Alright. I can do this." Still not convinced.
"Okay, progress. Now I want you to repeat that back to me again, but this time make it more believable. You need to believe in yourself." He said, gesturing at you to repeat yourself.
"Really? You're giving me a therapy lesson right now?" 
"Yes. When's a better time? It's now or never. Now, go on."
You looked at Katherine in disbelief, but she just nodded as she bit her lip, trying not to laugh. You looked back at Ben, who just raised a brow.
"I can do this." You muttered quietly but firmly.
"Louder."
"I can do this." You said louder. Not loud enough to attract other attention, but enough to satisfy both Ben and Katherine.
"That's what I like to hear." Ben grinned dorkily. You couldn't help but burst out laughing at his face, Katherine joining with a bright smile on her face.
Little did you three know, this would be the last time you would all sit in this diner together. 
-September 22nd, 1998-
Infiltrating Umbrella really shouldn't have been easy. It really shouldn't have. But all you needed was a guest pass. Which is interesting considering this place was supposed to be secret. What kind of guests are coming to a secret lab?
You were dressed in black dress pants, a short sleeved white shirt, a dark navy blue buttoned up cardigan and black flats. You also had your backpack full of essentials. Your notebook, pencils, water bottle, flashlight, granola bar and a flash drive.
When you arrived, your informant told you that this place was called NEST.
NEST was constructed fairly recently and ran along the Arklay mountains not far from Raccoon City, sitting directly underneath the Umbrella Chemical Plant. Tunnels were throughout and around the city, giving different access points in and out. It was built sometime in 1991. For what, you may be wondering? 
Well, your informant told you that the main reason it was built was to expand research on something called the G-virus. The G-virus being the main reason. Although research on the G-virus wasn't the only thing Umbrella was working on.
To get more information, you and your informant and temporary partner in crime, Frederic Downing, had to get to level B5F, where the G-virus research was taking place. The problem was security was tight, with a security office sitting closely to the lab to keep the research safe.
"The first security team goes on break in ten minutes. Once they exit that door, we have exactly three minutes before the second team comes to replace them." Downing said once he got you near, but hidden enough, to the entrance of the level. 
"Right, that should hopefully be enough time to get information on the G-virus and whatever else I can store on this flash drive then get out, right?" You questioned the British man, holding the drive tightly in your hand. 
"Yes. Umbrella's technology is state of the art and speedy, but weak to certain hacker offenses from the inside. You should get by no problem as long as you've got the overdrive code your friend gave you. You have it? " He asked.
Friend is a loose term, more acquaintance. You helped him out a while ago and, conveniently, he just so happened to owe you a favor. You needed his hacking skills and he pulled through by giving you a fool proof passcode to get through any firewall easy peasy.
You pulled out a notebook that was full of notes and the passcode out of your backpack. You were worried that the backpack would attract attention, but Downing had said there were many students that Umbrella felt had potential that visited the NEST from time to time. He was right. He vouched for you at the entrance security and you were in like that.
You flipped to the page. "Right here." You said, holding up the page.
"Alright. In six minutes, we're a go." But just as he had finished that sentence, alarms started going off. His face paled with obvious worry.
"What? What the hell does that mean?" I questioned anxiously.
"The Hunter R test subjects were released." He looked at the door and quickly pulled you down to a hiding spot as it slid open.
You both watched as the security team, donning guns, ran out and down the opposite way from where you both were hiding. 
You waited until the hall was cleared before standing. 
"What are Hunter R's?" You questioned, pen in hand ready to write it down. You're worried, but your job is to get any information down. Danger be damned.
"You'll find out one way or another. Either by the flash drive we're about to get or by encountering them. Let's hope it isn't the latter." He quickly ran to the door with you in tow, placing his bracelet near the chip reader, making it beep and open.
He quickly beacons you to follow him down a long hall. He gets you to one of the computers in a room across from Birkins lab, just out of sight in case he was still there.
"Do what you need to. Fast. I'll take watch." He does as he said, standing near the door to watch for any signs of movement.
You quickly get to work, putting the flash drive in the slot and typing the passcode into the computer. The sirens blaring in your ear drums and ricocheting through your head. You're going to have a migraine at this rate.
The code worked, you're in. You quickly begin to type in the command code, making any document, file, and anything else useful store itself into the flash drive. As it does so, you take the time to skim through the files, looking through keywords you might recognize. Good thing you're a fast reader.
Orphanage. Oh god. This was worse than you and Ben had thought it was. Far worse.
They weren't adopted. Far from it. They were taken from Umbrella and used for experiments. Raccoon City's very own chief of police covering it up. The man who swore to protect the civilians. Figures.
Progenitor virus. The basis for all viruses Umbrella have developed or are developing.
T-virus. Or the Tyrant virus. Likely the cause of some the random psychotic breaks and attacks. It can sustain its host near death. So only those alive can get infected. The virus mutates and kills the host in the process.
G-virus. Or Golgotha or God virus. What Birkin has been working on. Like the T-virus, it causes rapid mutation and aggression to whomever is infected with it. But unlike the T-virus, it can reanimate dead tissue.
And- oh, that's what the Hunter R's are…There's a whole list of Umbrella's creations. This is horrific.
What kind of people can just experiment on children, on people, and not bat an eye? Umbrella has been testing and genetically altering viruses. Creating things that should only exist in horror movies. 
But why? What's the motive?
"Hurry up, Y/n!" Downing told you.
From what you've gathered, Umbrella has created these viruses, mutating animals and people. But why? Oh. Their goal is to develop the ultimate weapons. Bio Organic Weapons. To get the upper hand in wars by replacing the military with monsters.
How much was the United States government aware of what's going on here? You didn't know. But you figured they had some knowledge. And that Umbrella may have some insiders within the government pulling strings and making decisions.
"Y/n! Let's go!" Downing was nervous. Rightfully so. You take note of the sirens having stopped.
You needed to get out of there. You finished storing and saving everything and grabbed the flash drive, shoving it down your front, right, dress pants pocket to make sure it was secure. You toss your notebook back into your backpack and quickly put it on.
"Alright. Come on." You said, speedily meeting him at the door. 
But as you are about to leave, you stumble upon a scene. You noticed a team of four men, armed with combat gear and machine guns. They were surrounding a blonde man you know as William Birkin, who was carrying a briefcase protectively. You quickly pull Downing to a crouch and hide out of sight.
"Doctor Birkin, you'll come along with us quietly." One of the armed men said.
"You think I didn't know you were coming? This is my life's work! I'm not handing over anything!" Birkin exclaimed.
"We have our orders, Dr. Birkin. I'll ask you one more time…" The man said.
Birkin paused, looking at the four men who had their guns pointed at him, before deciding. 
It all happened so fast. Birkin attempted to grab his hand gun from his side when one man quickly fired his gun at him. Birkin collapsed to the ground, filled with bullet holes and becoming surrounded by a pool of his own blood. You put a hand over your mouth to muffle any sounds of shock that might escape, still hidden with Downing and watching the scene unfold.
"Stop! Hold your fire!" The man yelled.
The shooting stopped and a silence filled the air. One man goes over to check if Birkin was alive. Dead.
"What the fuck were you thinking? Our orders were to bring him in alive!" The man exclaimed to the man who shot Birkin. He sighed and turned to talk to someone on what you assumed was a comm.
"We're in sir. But we had a snafu. Target resisted, we had to take him out." He paused. "That's correct, sir… Roger that. Just the samples then." He finished. 
One of the men grabbed the breif case and they turned to head out.
"Let's move." The man said.
The men leave and you slowly walk out of your hiding place. Downing quickly rushed around the lab to find something. Turning over drawers and papers.
"What are you doing?" You questioned.
"Earning a bigger profit." He grinned as he found what he was looking for. He held up a vial of something and your eyes widened.
"Is that…is that the G-virus?" You asked.
"A version of it, yes. A small sample. But it will make me a handsome fortune on the black market." He pocketed the vial and went to leave.
"Wait! You can't just take it and sell it! You know how dangerous it is!" You exclaimed. He nodded in agreement.
"Which is why it will make me rich. You got what you wanted. I got what I wanted. I think this is where we part ways, dear. Bye now." He said as he rushed out of the room. You'll end up lost in this place without him.
"Wai-" you started to follow but stopped when you saw Birkin twitch. You notice an empty vial next to him and gasp. You slowly backed away toward a wall to his right as he stood up and faced the exit the men had left through, nearly bumping into a blonde woman who looked at the scene with shock.
You make eye contact with the woman and her eyes flashed with confusion before shaking her head and facing Birkin. Judging by a photo you saw on his desk and from what Ben told you, you can assume this is Annette Birkin.
You stood slightly behind the woman and out of his line of sight. He panted as he glared at the exit angrily.
"What have you done?" Annette gasped to her husband.
"G is my creation!" He wailed. He started to pant and grunt in pain, something within him shifting. He walked toward the exit and his wife quickly ran and grabbed the gun on the floor next to the puddle of blood. He grunted in pain and she pointed the gun at him.
"William!" She exclaimed. She seemed desperate for any sign of recognition within him.
He continued walking to the exit, grunting and panting, ignoring his wife. She looked to be considering shooting him, but she just put the gun down after a moment of consideration. 
You watched wide eyed as he left after the soldiers, beginning to mutate into this grotesque being, lab coat ripping as his body grew and his right arm begging to form into this rotted, muscular limb with a yellow eyeball attached. That must be where he injected the G-virus.
"Who are you?" Annette Birkin asked. You turned to look at her and saw her gun was pointed at you. You quickly put your hands up.
"No one! Literally no one. I was just passing through." You told her. She didn't seem to believe you though.
"I won't ask you again, who are you? And why are you here?" She asked, lifting the gun higher.
You had to come up with something on the spot. So why not rat out the bastard who ditched you before getting you out of here.
"Downing! You know Downing?" You asked. She nodded for you to continue. "Well, he brought me here to show off his workplace. Thought it would impress me enough to get me to sleep with him. He ditched me after taking something from that drawer when that guy was bleeding out on the ground." You explained. Well, it was the partial truth.
She seemed to have believed you, or just didn't care enough to have you explain more, and sighed. "Was it shaped like a vial?" She questioned.
"Yeah, like those." You nodded as you pointed to the empty glass vials on the desk.
"Damn it!" She exclaimed in frustration. She lowered the gun away from you. You slowly relaxed your arms and backed away a single step. Annette ran a hand over her tired eyes, seemingly in disbelief over all the shit that has gone wrong in a single night. 
You two stood there for a minute, silence deafening as you took a moment to gather your thoughts. You hesitantly step forward.
"Look, ma'am, I really want to get out of here. I don't really know where I am. Any chance you can help?" You asked her. She turned to look and study your features, seeming to have an internal debate, before sighing once more and nodding.
"Of course. We were put in lock down briefly, but the exits should still be accessible. You have a gun?" She asked you. You shook your head no. You're a reporter's assistant. So definitely not.
She walked over to a drawer and pulled it open, shuffled through it for a moment, before pulling out a small pistol and three ammo magazines. She walked back over and handed you the gun and ammo.
"Here, it's already loaded. Each magazine had ten bullets in them. You know how to use it?" She asked. You shook your head once more. Again. Reporter's assistant.
She quickly went over gun safety 101. How to reload. How to use the safety button. Make sure that you're pointing away from yourself when you pull the trigger. Everything seemed pretty straight forward. The aiming will depend on you. 
"Alright. Follow me and try to keep up. I will not stop for you if you fall behind." Annette said.
You nodded in understanding and followed her out of the room and into the hallways. You made sure to keep somewhat of a distance and observe your surroundings. Blood occasionally smeared throughout the hallways. You watched for the labels on the walls and for any potential monster running at you with the intent to kill.
You and Annette make it to a long hallway, the lights being broken make the whole area dark. You slowed to a stop. Two bodies of former scientists lay bloodied and bruised on the ground in the middle of the hall. Bones were snapped in half and poked out in awkward directions. Deep scratch marks littered their bodies and gory bite marks their necks. Likely the finishing move of whatever killed them. Upon closer inspection, you also noticed another dead body in shredded combat gear, much like the men you saw before. He had two grenades on the floor next to him. One was a flash, the other a normal hand grenade.
"The exit is just through this way. We'll have to be quiet and keep a watchful eye out." Annette whispered. You nodded in agreement, lifting your gun with the safety off along with Annette, and slowly walked into the room.
Your eyes had to slowly adjust to the dark the deeper you went down the hall. The flashlight you packed was still in your backpack. You noticed a bright red exit sign not far from the direction Annette was leading you toward. You stood a few feet behind her as she led the way. As you step besides the armed, dead man, you hear a growl from the opened closet door up ahead to the right of Annette.
She froze, gun down and still facing the exit, too afraid to move. 
The growling continued. You, out of sight of the closet in front of you with gun in hand, slowly crouched down to the body in combat gear, left hand moving to grab the flash and hand grenade.
You place the hand grenade in your cardigan pocket, before grabbing the flash grenade next. You slowly pulled the pin out with your teeth, growling continuing while Annette stood still, and prepared to throw. 
You slowly take a step forward. Stopped, aimed, and quickly rolled the flash grenade through the door as the growling turned to screeching. You ran to Annette and pushed her away from the door and toward the exit. You both stumbled as the grenade let off a loud bang and bright flash, briefly blinding you both. 
You quickly recovered and pushed Annette through the door, shutting it behind you. She jogged ahead to a ladder and started climbing up, the ladder leading to the outside world.
You ran right behind her, but stopped when you heard screeching from behind the door you had just come from. You turned and saw the door rattling and made a decision. You ran up to the ladder as Annette finally made it through the hole in the ceiling. You climbed as fast as you could as the door rattling became more and more intense.
You just make it through the hole and to solid ground when the door bursts open. You grabbed the grenade, pulled the pin with your teeth, turned, and threw it down the hole. 
The grenade immediately exploded. Causing the ladder and bits of the hall to fall apart. The monster shrieked in pain as debris fell on it, making the ladder and exit unusable. 
Annette quickly shut the hatch to the hole and locked it up. You sat on the ground as you gasped for air, out of breath from all the action that just happened. You glanced around at your surroundings and realized you're in a secluded alleyway somewhere in the city. You looked at your watch and saw that it was an hour after midnight. September 23rd.
Annette stood up, "You need to get out of here. Get out of the city if you can. Things are about to get real messy. It's best if you stay away." She turned and walked away without saying anything further.
You debated on whether or not to follow her, but decided that you should follow the plan and meet up with Ben at the Apple Inn to share what you learned.
You sighed, standing up and dusting off your dirtied cardigan. You walked out of the alley and realized where you were, beginning your trek to the Inn Ben was staying at.
43 notes · View notes
starry-blue-echoes · 5 months
Note
Legally Stars: I just. Had. The craziest idea. Based on the release date of a certain game.
So it's 2002, a good amount of time after the mess in Italy. Jotaro wants to help the kids take a breather, but he isn't sure how. Then he sees an ad for a video game and he pauses.
Right there near the bottom of the poster is, of all characters, Donald Duck. He looks at it more closely and... yep, that's the Disney logo, along with some company called Squaresoft.
He isn't the biggest fan of video games, but Joseph did get the kids a PS2 last Christmas, and Ungalo is a huge fan of Disney. Jolyne less so, but she still likes the company and their movies.
He buys the game, but he's still doubtful. How good can this 'Kingdom Hearts' be?
(9 years later, Pucci is beaten into unconsciousness by a Bohemian Rhapsody-summoned, spiky-haired kid wielding a giant key.)
I'll admit I don't know a whole lot about Kingdom Hearts but the fucking snort I let out reading this holy shit-
I regret nothing about making Ungalo a Disney fan because it opens up avenues of sheer insane bullshit like this and makes everything extrodinarily funnier, and it also just hit me that growing up........ Ungalo and the other kids are probably going to use their Stands a TON, especially given the fact they're in an environment where they can freely do so and explore things, and now I rotating ideas of how that would affect them
Ungalo would of course occasionally use Bohemian Rahpsody on his favorites, but after that gets a TON of attention, he also probably begins to get an appreciation for more niche, unknown media. He learns to control his Stand on a much smaller scale but spends time wondering what would happen if he fully cut loose
Rikiel likes to practice with finer controls and while his Stand can't be played with as safely as his siblings, that doesn't stop them from trying to come up with games so he won't feel left out. One of their favorites is a sort of sight based hide and seek where Rikiel Stands in a single spot and has to try and spot their hiding places and direct the rods to them
and Donatello LOVES walking around places and seeing what the ground can tell him. He knows a ridiculous amount of random, untimately meaningless gossip and loves to regale his siblings with stories of what he's heard. He usually doesn't do anything more recent than the last few years to save himself the awkwardness of knowing the people Under World shows him, but it's still very entertaining nontheless
Naturally when Jolyne obtains her Stand, they IMMEDIATELY jump as the oppurtinity. They'd of course always done their best to include her before, but now that she can actually see their Stands and has one of her own the possibilities are endless
I like to imagine the brothers all make sure to be very calm and un-serious about Stone Free. They little sister had to go through enough stress and fear getting her Stand in the first place, she doesn't need to be treated like she was something dangerous just because she had a powerful Stand. In there eyes, she's still their Jolyne, only now she can turn into string
Jolyne takes a shine to cats cradles and embroidery, but she is also unfairley hard to catch in her brother's opinion. She becomes crazily flexible and anytime when they wrestle or play tag, she'll simply slip out of any holds she's put in and wrap around her opponent so they're the one caught instead
but shifting gears a bit, this ALSO got me thinking of everything Post-Golden Wind and also just Jotaro being a Cool Dad/Uncle. After Jotaro very violently curbstomps Diavolo, I'd imagine there's a moment of hesitancy from the Bucci Gang because yeah this man came out of nowhere and just beat the shit out of the BOSS who's been giving us a lot of trouble like it was nothing, but all their worries abate when all four of the kids tackle him with a hug
it's only later they realize No, Mr.Jotaro Is That Scary, He's Just Got A Soft Spot For The Kids And Maybe Giorno
32 notes · View notes
virgo-mess · 4 months
Text
Good Cop, Bad Cop
I forgot to mention this is a request from @karatekels!
And there will be three parts to this! Next chapter is dubcon and should be up hopefully tomorrow evening or possibly early morning depending on how quick I can crank it out for you. This part is on the longer side, but I felt like reader and Cash needed a little more development.
Enjoy!
TW: Abduction, Vague mentions of abuse, mentions of unhealthy attachment styles, depression, bleeding, pressure points, police corruption, tiny bit of fluff in some areas but it's slightly manipulative so....... 😂 I think maybe Cash actually does mean it, but I honestly can't decide what do you guys think?
Chapter 2: Romantic Cop?
Reader’s Pov
            You take a deep breath as you stare up at the ceiling in your childhood bedroom. Debating on whether you wanted to get up today or not; you knew you had to eventually Daisy wanted you to go to her last fitting with her and try on the two maid of honor dress options she had picked out for you. You found that without having to go to work getting out of bed was hard for you now. You guess the post break up blues are finally catching up to you; the emotional numbness you had felt for so long was finally starting to disappear. You knew you’d be sad, but you hadn’t expected to feel so lonely.
            “Y/N” comes your mother’s voice form outside your closed bedroom door. You let out a soft sigh knowing that she’s coming to have one of her signature heart to heart discussions. You knew one was coming, your boss had told her about your panic attack in the office last week. You were surprised she hadn’t tried to force one on you the day you had got there.
            “You can come in” you replied softly as you moved yourself into a sitting position. Your mom opened the door slowly and walked over to your bed with a tray in her hands. She gave you a loving smile and a kiss on the head before setting it on your lap. It was filled with all your favorite foods and a fresh cup of tea. “Thanks mom” you said picking up a cinnamon roll and taking a bite.
            “You’re welcome pumpkin. We should really talk, you know. I know you don’t like to, and I think that’s my fault.” She admitted, your eyes snapped towards her in surprise. You furrow your brows taking a quick sip of tea before responding.
            “Why would you think that? It’s not your fault Jack cheated and left me for her…” you trail off trying not to think about it too hard because thinking about it still hurt even after two years. Your mom sighed placing a reassuring hand on top of your leg.
            “I know that’s not my fault, that wasn’t your fault either. I’m talking about the way you’re choosing to handle it being my fault. You already know I’ve talked about you in therapy, and we got to talking about what might cause your avoidance behavior. He said it usually all comes down to attachment styles that develop in early childhood.” She said slowly, you resist the urge to roll your eyes and take another bite of your cinnamon roll to prevent a groan from escaping your lips. You hadn’t planned on having a therapy session this morning and suddenly wished you had forced yourself out of bed to take your morning walk. You were actually supposed to go on it with Cash but left him a text message saying you weren’t feeling well and that you’d see him at the fitting later. You and Cash had been spending the days before the wedding catching up and hanging out. You find it a bit odd Cash has all but glued himself to your side, but you can’t bring yourself to mind because you actually enjoy his company. The last few years in New York were so lonely, most of the friends you had were friends with your ex-boyfriend first so when shit hit the fan not many picked you in the “divorce”. Being with Cash was helping you sort through all your feelings in a weird therapeutic type of way. All your alone time had defiantly rekindled your childhood crush, you were starting to feel butterflies when he smiled at you again. You never had the courage to act on your feelings back then and you weren’t sure you were ready to act on them now, it’s not like he was going to stick around if he knew anyway. You were sure that when the wedding was over, he’d go back to Cleveland and disappear for another twelve years. You weren’t sure if you could handle him abandoning you a second time.
            “And what did he decide my attachment style was?” you ask just to humor her. Your mom gave you a knowing sort of look as she watched you take another sip of tea.
            “He said it sounds like you have a disorganized attachment style. He can’t be sure unless he sees you, have you reconsidered therapy?” she said, you furrow your brows at her again. You didn’t know all that much about attachment styles, but you did know what that one was usually caused by.
            “Mom, you and dad didn’t abuse or neglect me” you said finally, you honestly didn’t remember that much about him anyway but what you did remember wasn’t scary.
            “The abuse doesn’t have to be done to you. I did my best to shield you from it, but your father and I had a very violent relationship and there were defiantly times you were afraid of him. That’s why I got sole custody” she said honestly. You slowly nod your head even though you don’t agree with the assessment.
            “You did great mom. I know you did your best. People cope in different ways, and I know the way I chose to do it wasn’t healthy, but I don’t think it has anything to do with an unhealthy attachment style. What brought you to this conclusion?” you asked, trying to understand what she was getting at.
“Cash Ewing” she said simply, you feel a deep blush creep up on you suddenly remembering you told her you guys had been meeting up for your morning walks.
“Cash Ewing made you think I have a disordered attachment style” you said in disbelief, this time you don’t resist the urge to roll your eyes as you take a sip of tea. Your mom gives you a long knowing sort of look that makes you want to shy away from this conversation.
“Yes, Cash Ewing. You guys were always so smitten with each other, everyone always thought you were going to be high school sweethearts just like Pete and Daisy. You never could tell him how you felt about him back then and you still can’t seem to tell him how you feel about him now. Why did you cancel your walk this morning?” she asked, you let out an exasperated sigh as you finish your breakfast before forcing yourself out of bed.
“You’re being ridiculous mom; I just wasn’t feeling well this morning. I feel a bit better now, so I’ll walk over to his mom’s house and see if he’s still in, ok?” You said, avoiding eye contact with her as you head to the bathroom.
“Okay, pumpkin” you can hear the note of defeat in her voice, and you hear her shuffling around before she finally leaves your room without another word.
After a quick shower you decide to get dressed, you rummage through your suitcase for a long while. You let out an exasperated sigh when you notice a large chunk of your clothes are missing, you were sure your mom took them to wash them but a lot of them weren’t even worn. You settle on a pair of denim shorts and a crop top before slipping on a pair of white sneakers. You glance at yourself one more time before heading down the stairs and out the front door to head over to the Ewing house. Before you even make it to the door Cash pops out with a big grin on his face and you can’t help the way you blush because he had to have been waiting for you to change your mind. Probably sat in the armchair watching out the window the same way he used to do when you were kids.
“Hey Y/N, are you feeling better?” he asked, walking down the front steps in long strides towards you. You nod your head in reply taking in his outfit for the day, dark jeans, and a blue button-down shirt. You wonder how he still manages to look like he just walked out of a magazine spread in such a mundane looking outfit.
“Yeah, I know it’s a bit late, but we can go to the fitting and then go for a walk or grab lunch if you still want to” you said trying to keep the hopeful tone out of your voice. Cash gives you another smile, but you see something dark flicker in his eyes again. You haven’t been able to figure out what that dark emotion is. Sometimes he still comes off as the innocent carefree Cash from your youth but other times he comes off dark, brooding, and dangerous. The darkness honestly terrifies you, but you still can’t help how much you want to be close to him. You assume it’s just because you’re feeling a bit overly emotional these days.
“Of course, I still want to, Butterfly. I want to be wherever you are” he said nonchalantly with a comforting smile on his face, but his words send a spine-tingling shiver down your back. You feel your cheeks heat up now feeling slightly nervous as you gaze into his icy blue eyes. Cash gives you a coquettish grin that you find a bit arousing in the moment; you feel his long fingers trail gently down the length of your arm before they lace with your smaller ones. Everything in your head is telling you to pull away but you can’t bring yourself to do it.
“Okay, my car is in the garage” you said coyly, looking down at your laced fingers in bewilderment. You hadn’t held hands since you were ten, you find that holding his hand makes a wave of happiness wash over you. The happiness is soured by you reminding yourself that he’d be abandoning you again soon, but you can’t bring yourself to pull away because you still want to be close to him.
“Why don’t we take mine, you don’t have to use all your gas on me.” Cash said giving your hand a firm but gentle tug towards his truck. You give him a nervous sort of smile, something is still telling you to pull away from him, that going with him today wouldn’t be a good idea. That you were going to regret ever allowing yourself to enjoy being with him because he was going to hurt you in the end.
“Okay” you replied timidly, Cash gives you a smile that takes your breath away as he guides you to his truck. He opens the door before tenderly scooping you into his arms and setting you gingerly on the seat.  “Thanks Cash, but you didn’t have to do that” you said blushing furiously. Cash let out a deep chuckle before shutting your door and heading over to the driver’s side.
Cash’s Pov
            “It’s my job to protect and serve, Butterfly. Can’t have you hurting yourself” Cash said flashing you another dazzling smile, appreciating the way you flush for him. Watching as you rolled your eyes at him playfully.
            “I know how to get into a truck without hurting myself Cash” you said with a cute giggle. Seeing you this happy made him feel slightly bad about what he was going to do to you later. He had planned on waiting to make you his until after the wedding; he was just going to sneak into your hotel room and seduce you. Make it all romantic even with flowers, champagne, and some long-winded declaration of love. He supposed he could still do some of that when he cuffed you to the bed and The Wings Neck Lighthouse would still be romantic. His words would be true, but you might have some trouble believing them when you were under duress. He was still trying to make it good for you at least, he did want you to be happy, he just didn’t want you to be happy without him. You really left him no choice after you promptly cancelled on him this morning, you didn’t even have the nerve to call just sent a half assed text message. Cash gazes at you for a long moment before pulling out of the driveway, he remembered what happened the last time you canceled on him out of the blue and he wasn’t about to let it happen again.
            “Well, I can’t be too sure about that, you broke your arm four times. I wanted to nickname you Fragile, but Butterfly seemed a better fit for you.” he said teasingly enjoying the cute giggles you give him in response. He was relieved you didn’t seem to notice all the bags filled with groceries, his clothes, and your clothes in the back of the truck. He charmed your mom before she went up to your room giving her very vague information about what he planned for today. She came bounding down the stairs with a duffle bag filled with more clothes than you were going to need; he hadn’t planned on holding you hostage forever. You both still had to be in the wedding after all but that was a couple days away. He could do what he wanted and then clean it up in time. He wasn’t technically abducting you, you got in the car pretty willingly for him and didn’t ask any questions about where he’d be taking you. He’d give you little bits of information right up until he couldn’t anymore, if you tried to run, he’d simply use a few compliance pressure points to subdue you. It shouldn’t be hard his size was his advantage after all. From the outside this all just looked like a grand romantic gesture, and something told him you wanted him as much as he wanted you. You were just too afraid to make a move, luckily for you he wasn’t anymore.
            “Why is that?” you asked curiously, staring at him with big eyes. Cash feels a smile tug across his face, he always loved when you looked at him that way. Like he was the best thing to ever grace the planet. Under these circumstances, however it makes him feel bitter, if he was the best thing to ever exist then how did you leave him so easily? He was sure he’d be getting all his answers tonight whether you wanted to or not.
            “Because they’re delicate and beautiful and I thought you were too” he said nonchalantly, and because he felt them in his stomach every time you were around. He glances at you one last time to see you looking a little sad. “You still are Y/N” he said, hoping to you smile again since it might be the last one you give him for a while. Hopefully you weren’t going to make tonight too hard on him, he’d be getting what he wanted either way. You were going to finally be his, he didn’t care how you guys got there, all he cared about was finally ending the day inside you. Cape Cod was the perfect place to do it.
            “Thanks Cash” you said with a timid looking smile and rosy cheeks.
Reader’s Pov
            You make it through your fitting quickly with Daisy deciding on a satin slit dress with floral detailing to set you apart from the other bridesmaids. You blushed furiously when Cash showered you with compliments, you awkwardly threw a few back at him when you saw him in his suit. You hadn’t seen him in one since prom, which you sadly didn’t even go to together. You did notice he was being even nicer to you today than he usually was, romantic even. There was even a moment where you thought he was going to kiss you. You of course shied away and played it off because kissing him would make him abandoning you again, harder to handle. After the fitting he told you he made a reservation at your favorite restaurants down in Cape Cod and said he had another surprise for you after. You and Cash had spent so many summers down in Cape Cod running up and down the sandy beaches often with Pete and Daisy in toe. You missed the way things were in those innocent years, those ones before the dread of awkward adolescence crept up on you both.
            “I should call my mom” you said awkwardly, feeling flattered but skeptical as you reached in your pocket for you cell phone but realize it isn’t there. You try to remember where you left it, and you grumble bitterly to yourself when you realize trust issues are a sign of a disorganized attachment style. You suddenly hated your mother for bringing this to your attention; you’d rather be blissfully unaware because that would mean you didn’t have to address all the real reasons you never told Cash how you felt. “Have you seen my phone?” You asked, looking over at him curiously. Cash shakes his head at you but doesn’t take his eyes off the road, this immediately sounds alarms in your head, but you don’t push further.
            “No, you don’t need to call her anyway, I already told her all about it this morning” he said nonchalantly as he pulled on to the express way. Cape Cod was only a half hour drive from Plymouth anyway and you did trust Cash just not enough to open up to him.
            “Is that why she came in my room with a tray full of my favorite foods?” you said narrowing your eyes at him, you see a small smirk twitch on his lips.
            “Maybe” he shrugged keeping his eyes trained on the road. You make it to Cape Cod around 1:30 and share a late lunch at the Belfry Inn and Bistro. You’re a bit surprised when Cash agrees to shop with you for a bit around the village because he always hated going shopping with you before.
            “Okay, what’s up?” you asked, narrowing your eyes up at him suspiciously. Cash furrows his eyebrows at you for a moment and you’re too focused on your little interrogation to be bothered with him wrapping his arms around your waist tightly.
            “What do you mean Butterfly?” he asked as he stopped you both in front of one of the flower carts. You give him a weighty look; Cash keeps his eyes focused on the cart and you start to feel a bit uneasy.
            “Why are you going shopping with me? You hate shopping and you’re acting weird” you said sharply, Cash lets out a long sigh and you don’t miss the way his shoulders tense as he tightens the grip he has around your waist. You squirm a little trying to create a little space between you, but you freeze in place when he shoots you an intense stare. His eyes soften up when you stop but his tight hold doesn’t let up.
            “I don’t mind shopping now, people can change” he said simply giving you a soft smile. You can’t help the sudden wave of jealousy you feel when it crosses your mind that he probably doesn’t mind now because some girl he dated also liked shopping. Of course, this change wasn’t prompted by you because you weren’t important to him in that way.
            “Gee, I wonder which girlfriend finally broke you in. The sex had to have been amazing if she coaxed Cashton Ewing into shopping with her willingly” you sneered, yanking yourself out of his grasp. You ignore his calls as you stomp into the next store. You can feel Cash lingering behind you as you frantically pull random items from the rack. Before rushing to the dressing room, hoping to create some distance between you two after letting your mask slip. You try on about twenty pairs of clothes as you try to figure out what prompted another mini meltdown. You didn’t have the excuse of being stressed. Your time back home had been quite enjoyable. You were having fun up until ten minutes ago. Maybe it was better if you just went back to your mom’s house. You let out a sigh, settling on a dress and a few skirts before getting redressed and walking up to the register. You avoid making eye contact with Cash, who is standing awkwardly at the end of the counter with flowers in his hand. You feel a wave of guilt pass through you as you hand the cashier your credit card, accepting your card and the bag she hands back to you.
            “Here Butterfly” Cash said softly reaching out to hand you the flowers when you make it over to him. There’s an unreadable expression on his face as he looks down at you with soft eyes.
            “Thank you” you said as you awkwardly accept the flowers from him. “I’m still not feeling that well, my stomach hurts I think I might be coming down with something. I know you had something planned so I can just take the bus” you said avoiding eye contact.
            “No” Cash said grabbing you by the arm firmly as he tugged you out of the store. He’s practically dragging you and you find it hard to keep up with his long strides.
            “What do you mean no?” you asked trying to keep yourself from falling over feeling nervous with how quickly his demeanor shifted. You can’t see his face because of how far you’ve fallen behind him, but you can tell that he’s angry.
            “No, you’re not going home. You’re getting back in my truck and you’re going with me” he said sharply, before wrapping an arm around your waist to keep you from falling down. You scowl at him in disbelief.
            “No Cash, I want to go home” you said feeling yourself shudder against his side when he throws you a menacing glare.
            “I don’t really care what you want Y/N. All I’ve done my whole life is care about what you want. Now it’s time to care about what I want” he hissed; you feel a genuine wave of fear washing over you as you see his truck coming into focus. You start thrashing frantically, trying to free yourself from his grip; you had never seen him act this way before.
            “Please, I just want to go home Cash please take me back home. We can watch movies on the couch” you begged still trying to free yourself from his grip.
            “We can watch movies on the couch where we’re going too as long as you’re a good girl for me, Butterfly” he said teasingly as he yanked the car door open. You let out a gasp of surprise, realizing what he’s implying as he tries to lift you into the truck. You kicked back at him with a force you didn’t know you were capable of connecting with his knee. Cash lets out a hiss of pain but he lets his hands fall from your waist quickly. Without his arms there to steady you, you tumble to the ground and feel one of your knee’s scraps roughly against the gravel on the ground. You watch as blood rapidly flows from your new cut, and you look up to see Cash glaring at you with dark eyes filled with equal amounts of lust and sadness.
            “Just get in the truck, Y/N, please.” He said in a pleading tone as he reaches down to help you up, you shake your head feeling tears brim your eyes.
            “Only if you take me home” you demand hoarsely, you’re not sure why you allow him to pull you back to your feet, but you do. Cash brings his hands up to gingerly wipe the few tears that do manage to escape your eyes.
            “No, we have to talk about this. I’m not letting you run away from me again. So, get the fucking car, Y/N” he said in a soft threatening tone. You let out a whimper as you try to pull away from him again sharply, but Cash only tightens his hold on your face.
            “Then I’m not getting in the fucking car” you hissed giving him the coldest stare you could muster with tears streaming down your face. Cash lets out a pained sort of groan as he stares deep into your eyes, before sharply turning you to face the open truck door. Before you can even wonder what he’s doing you feel one hand cradle your chin firmly and his other thumb trailing to a tender spot on your neck right below your ear.
            “I’m sorry, Butterfly” he whispered before firmly pressing his thumb into your neck. You feel a shocking amount of pain flow through your jaw, and you let out a loud, high-pitched shriek. Cash takes the opportunity to hoist you into the truck before rushing to the driver’s side and locking the doors. You look over at him, feeling dismayed and cowering away from him when he moves in to comfort you. Sobs racking through your whole body. Cash shushes you as he runs his fingers in comforting circles up and down your legs. You hate the way your body seems to immediately relax into his touch.
            “It’s okay, Butterfly. Everything is going to be okay. You’ll see.” He croons placing soft kisses on the pressure point he just assaulted. Cash gives you one last charming smile before pulling out of the parking lot. You start to feel dizzy as your vision starts to blur in and out of focus. You faintly feel Cash wrap an arm around you, he gives you a gentle tug, and your head plops against his thigh. You look up at him with dazed, tired eyes.
            “It’s just from the stress, Butterfly. Go ahead and rest, we’ll be there before you know it” he said stoking your hair gently. You let out one last whimper before your whole world goes black.
Tumblr media
Part 3 Part 4
24 notes · View notes